Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Vitamin D is an important supplement and the lack of it can lead to soft bones, weak muscles, and even some forms of cancer.
Vitamin D is popularly called the “Sunshine Vitamin” because a main source of it comes from the sun’s rays.
In addition to building strong bones, the vitamin helps keep the heart healthy and fights infection by boosting the immune system.
And if adults don’t get enough, they can suffer all kinds of illnesses – including muscle weakness, osteoarthritis, and heart disease.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital tested the Vitamin D levels in 511 children who were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for various reasons over a year’s time. They found that 40 percent of those children had a Vitamin D deficiency.
They discovered youngsters suffering from Vitamin D deficiency became more severely ill compared to children who had enough Vitamin D. However, researchers found -- to their surprise -- that children with infections did not have a lower Vitamin D level than other critically ill children.
They also found Vitamin D deficiency was less common in younger non-Hispanic white patients and in children taking supplements of Vitamin D.
Because Vitamin D levels differed in critically ill children, depending on their illnesses, study authors recommended that severely ill youngsters admitted to the hospital should be screened for risk factors caused by Vitamin B deficiency.
