Anaemia in children has been a cause of constant concern for paediatricians and researchers all over the world. However, a new research finding has stated that low vitamin D is linked to anaemia in children. This finding was presented by the Paediatric Academic Societies, Denver, Colorado.
The sample for this research was a group of 9400 children between the ages of 2 to 18. Blood samples from these children were collected and their haemoglobin count was monitored. It was observed that the lower the vitamin D count, the lower was the haemoglobin level in the children. This automatically meant that these children were at a higher risk of anaemia. Children with lower than 20 nano grams per millilitre (ng/ml) of blood had a 50 percent higher risk for anaemia. Another startling difference was the highest deficiency of vitamin D in coloured children. This makes them even more vulnerable to anaemia. Where only 1% white children had anaemia; an astounding 9% black children were anaemic.
Although researchers have established that low vitamin D is linked to anaemia in children, they are not sure if a vitamin D deficiency alone causes anaemia.