The human body requires many vitamins, and in the case of vitamin deficiencies, various health problems arise. Vitamin D deficiency is one of them. Whether a child or an adult, it is essential to have sufficient levels of vitamin D in the body for good health.
The most crucial source of vitamin D is sunlight, and its deficiency leads to serious problems. One of these is particularly threatening to the bone development of babies and children. This condition, known as "rickets" in colloquial terms, is more commonly seen in early childhood when growth is rapid.
Once a significant health problem, rickets has significantly reduced in prevalence thanks to the practices of the Ministry of Health regarding vitamin D.
Prof. Dr. Behzat Özkan, Chief of Dr. Behçet Uz Children's Diseases and Surgery Education and Research Hospital at Health Sciences University, talked about the impact of rickets on health and the role of vitamin D in combating this disease.
He described rickets as the "disease of the growing organism" and stated that it is mainly caused by vitamin D deficiency in Turkey. The reduction in vitamin D levels in the blood leads to a lack of calcium and phosphorus, resulting in the following effects on the body:
"At the ends of long bones, there are growth plates where calcium deposition becomes insufficient. The organized process of cartilage-bone maturation, which is essential for the longitudinal growth of the bone, is disrupted. This results in the cupping, brushing, expansion of the bone ends, and decreased bone density, leading to curvature and deformities in the bones, especially in the legs. In some cases, it can manifest as shape distortions in the head, delayed teething, and different chest deformities in children. Sometimes, seizures in children can also be attributed to rickets due to vitamin D deficiency."
Prof. Dr. Özkan emphasized that rickets, although seen in adolescents as well, primarily affects children between the ages of 2 months and 5 years. He mentioned that in the past, rickets related to vitamin D deficiency was observed in one out of five children, but today, this ratio has dropped below one per thousand.
The most significant reason for this decline is undoubtedly the free vitamin D deficiency prevention program initiated by the Ministry of Health in 2007.
The Ministry's implementation involves distributing vitamin D to children under one year of age. Prof. Dr. Özkan, who is also a member of the scientific committee on the subject, provided the following details about the project:
"The Ministry of Health decided to start the free distribution of vitamin D to every child born in the country from 2007 until they turn one year old. This project has significantly contributed to the reduced frequency of rickets due to vitamin D deficiency."
The use of vitamin D is essential not only for babies but also for mothers. Prof. Dr. Özkan explained the reason as follows:
"When there is a vitamin D deficiency in the mother, clinical findings related to vitamin D deficiency can occur in children at an early age. Therefore, vitamin D supplementation is inevitable for mothers.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health has made vitamin D supplementation almost mandatory for expectant mothers in our country starting from the third month of pregnancy. In this way, the early appearance of vitamin D deficiency in children is prevented."
