Could Vitamin D deficiency in your child make it difficult for broken bones and fractures to heal? Study provides answers

When you’re a child, broken bones and fractures can become an integral part of your life. Children are mischievous, chaotic, and full of energy, and while finding a way out of these emotions, sometimes they get hurt. However, if your child is deficient in vitamin D, broken bones can be problematic. A new study warns that poor nutrition, particularly vitamin D deficiency, can make injuries worse than usual and slow the healing process.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to slow healing process

The American Academy of Pediatrics 2024 National Conference and Exposition presented the study. As part of the research, a team led by Dr Jessica Macquarie examined 186 cases of extremity fractures in children between 2015 and 2022. They found that children with low vitamin D levels took significantly longer to recover than their peers with normal levels.

Findings from the study

In case of foot fractures, without surgery, children with low vitamin D levels require an additional 20 days for clinical treatment, which is approximately three weeks of additional recovery time. Meanwhile, in radiographic treatment, it took two months for the vitamin D-deficient groups to see signs of fracture on X-ray disappear.

For children who required surgery, the consequences were even more serious. Here, clinical healing took an additional month, while radiographic evidence of healing lagged by about four months for those with low vitamin D levels.

What does this mean for parents and healthcare providers?

Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health. The study explored its specific effects on the healing of fractures and broken bones in children. Its findings highlight the potential consequences of vitamin D deficiency in pediatric orthopedics. Dr. MacQuarrie emphasized in the study that a balanced diet rich in Vitamin D plays an important role in the health development of the child.

While dairy products (like milk, cheese and yogurt), fish and many breakfast cereals are rich in vitamin D, sunlight is a major source of vitamin D for our body. Therefore, spending time outside is an effective way to increase vitamin D absorption. “Getting outside and enjoying the fresh air can do wonders for your health as well as increase vitamin D absorption. What a great excuse to get out and explore nature!” Dr. MacQuarrie added.