Should We Assess Vitamin D Status in Children with Celiac Disease?

Celiac.com 01/19/2022 - A number of researchers have encouraged screening children with celiac disease for vitamin D status, but, so far, studies to support these recommendations have not been definitive. 

A team of researchers recently set out to assess the vitamin D status in newly diagnosed children with celiac disease and in a non-celiac disease control population and relate them to vitamin D intake.

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The research team included Rajni Ahlawat; Toba Weinstein; James Markowitz; Nina Kohn; and Michael J. Pettei. They are variously affiliated with the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center; and the Department of Biostatistics, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, NY.

For their study, they team assessed levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) in children with newly diagnosed celiac disease, and compared them against non-celiac children seen for functional abdominal complaints. The team calculated vitamin D intake based on milk and multivitamin ingestion.

The researchers studied nearly forty newly diagnosed celiac disease patients ranging from about eight to thirteen years old, and evenly divided between girls and boys, along with just over eighty control subjects. Except for average daily D intake and BMI, both groups were similar. There was no meaningful difference in average 25-OHD levels between celiac disease patients and control subjects. 

Nearly seventy percent of celiacs and eighty percent of control subjects showed high percentages of suboptimal D status. 25-OHD levels reflected patient age, and estimated vitamin D intake. The data showed no significant difference in 25-OHD levels between newly diagnosed celiac disease and control subjects, with both groups showing inadequate 25-OHD levels. 

Patient 25-OHD levels correlated strongly with vitamin D intake, indicating similar vitamin D absorption between patients and control subjects. 

Because celiac disease is associated with low vitamin D levels and with bone disease, the researchers suggest that doctors should work with patients to maintain optimal levels of vitamin D, including screening vitamin D levels upon diagnosis for celiac disease.

Read more in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, October 2019, Volume 69 - Issue 4 - p 449-454