Vitamin D status in severe acute malnourished children

Background: Childhood malnutrition is a major public health concern in India, contributing to high morbidity and mortality. Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is the most critical form of undernutrition, leading to extremely low weight-for-height and significant muscle wasting. SAM children often have low vitamin D levels, essential for muscle, bone health and immune function. To assess vitamin D status in children with SAM. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at RNT Medical College, Udaipur, involving 200 children aged 6 months to 5 years-100 SAM cases from the nutritional rehabilitation centre and 100 non-malnourished controls. SAM criteria included weight-for-height Z-scores<-3 SD, mid-upper arm circumference<115 mm or nutritional edema. Vitamin D was estimated using electrochemiluminescence. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20, with significance at p<0.05. Results: The case group had a mean age of 28.08 months, while the control group had 28.95 months. The case group had lower averages in weight (7.36 kg vs 11.15 kg), height (78.48 cm vs 84.83 cm) and mid-upper arm circumference (11.2 cm vs 13.36 cm). Vitamin D deficiency was found in 28 (24.35%) cases, insufficiency in 49(42.61%) and normal levels in 38(33.04%). Mean vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the Case Group (23.9±11.71 ng/ml vs 29.9±14.78 ng/ml, p=0.006). Conclusions: SAM children had lower vitamin D levels, highlighting the need for further studies and targeted interventions to improve nutritional outcomes.