Effect of Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation (Dairy vs. Pharmacological) on Bone Health of Underprivileged Indian Children and Youth with Type-1 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Bone health is affected by chronic childhood disorders including type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We conducted this randomized controlled trial with the objective of investigating the effect of 1-year supplementation of vitamin-D with milk or with pharmacological calcium on bone mass accrual in underprivileged Indian children and youth with T1DM. METHODS: 5 to 23year old (n = 203) underprivileged children and youth with T1DM were allocated to one of three groups: Milk (group A-received 200 ml milk + 1000 international unit (IU) vitamin-D3/day), Calcium supplement (group B-received 500 mg of calcium carbonate + 1000 IU of vitamin-D3/day) or standard of care/control (group C). Anthropometry, clinical details, biochemistry, diet (3-day 24-h recall), physical activity (questionnaires adapted for Indian children) and bone health parameters (using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and peripheral quantitative computed tomography- DXA and pQCT respectively) were evaluated at enrolment and end of 12 month intervention. RESULTS: Total body less head(TBLH) bone mineral content (BMC(g)) and bone mineral density (BMD(gm/cm2)) were significantly higher at end of study in girls in both supplemented groups (TBLHBMC-A-1011.8 ±â€¯307.8, B-983.2 ±â€¯352.9, C-792.8 ±â€¯346.8. TBLHBMD-A-± 0.2, B-0.8 ±â€¯0.2, C-0.6 ±â€¯0.2, p < 0.05). Z score of lumbar spine bone mineral apparent density of supplemented participants of both sexes was significantly higher than controls (Boys- A-0.7 ±â€¯1.1, B-0.6 ±â€¯1.4, C- -0.7 ±â€¯1.1; Girls- A-1.1 ±â€¯1.1, B-0.9 ±â€¯3.4, C- -1.7 ±â€¯1.3, p < 0.05). A significantly higher percentage increase was found in cortical thickness in girls in both supplemented groups (A-17.9 ±â€¯28.6, B-15.3 ±â€¯16.5, C-7.6 ±â€¯26.2); the differences remained after adjusting for confounders. CONCLUSION: Supplementation with milk or pharmacological calcium (+vitaminD3) improved bone outcomes-particularly geometry in children with T1DM with more pronounced effect in girls. Pharmacological calcium may be more cost effective in optimising bone health in T1DM in resource limited settings.

Vitamin D status and determinants in Indian children and adolescents: a multicentre study.

Studies performed on Indian children to assess vitamin-D status have been on small sample sizes, limited to specific geographical locations and used non-standard methods to measure 25(OH)D3. This multicentre study assessed 25(OH)D3 concentrations from dried blood spots (DBS) in 5-18-year-old Indian children and adolescents using a standardized protocol and identified factors contributing towards vitamin D deficiency. Cross-sectional, observational school-based study was conducted by multi-stage stratified random sampling. A city and nearby village were selected from 6 Indian states covering wide geographical areas. Demography, anthropometry, body-composition, dietary-intakes and DBS samples were collected. 25(OH)D3 was assessed from DBS using Liquid chromatography with tandem-mass spectrometry. Vitamin-D status was assessed in 2500 children; with additional data collected on a subset (n = 669) to assess predictors. Mean vitamin-D concentration was 45.8 ± 23.9 nmol/L, 36.8% of subjects had sufficient vitamin-D (> 50 nmol/L); rural subjects and boys had higher concentrations (p < 0.05). On regression analysis, younger age, female-gender, overweight and urban residence significantly contributed to deficiency. More than half the Indian children/adolescents were vitamin-D deficient or insufficient. Our study reinforces vitamin-D deficiency as a major public health problem and the need for supplementation, food fortification and educating the population as initiatives required to improve sufficiency status.