Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to a higher risk of infections in adults. A new study from New Zealand shows there is also a connection for newborn babies. In the study, umbilical cord blood from more than 900 newborns was analyzed for vitamin D levels. At 3 months of age, those with low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, below 25 nmol/L, had double the risk of respiratory tract infections compared to babies with high levels of the vitamin in their umbilical cord blood. About one out of five of the infants had low vitamin D levels, especially if they were born during the wintertime.
[Pediatrics, January, 2011]
The People's Perspective on Medicine