Objective: To assess vitamin D status in women and their children aged 4-5 years in Northern Jordan during summer.
Design: A cross-sectional study in which 93 mother-child dyads volunteered through local community centers between June and July 2007. Anthropometric measurements were performed and information on socioeconomic status, health issues, lifestyle factors and nutritional intake were obtained from mothers through a questionnaire.
Main measures: Serum 25(OH)D and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were measured.
Results: Mean age (s.d.) was 34.0 (6.0) years for mothers and 60.7 (5.4) months for children. Maternal body mass index (BMI) was 29.6 (5.6) kg/m(2) with 77% of women having a BMI >or=25 kg/m(2). Mean concentration of serum 25(OH)D was 25.6 (9.6) nmol/l in mothers; only two women (2.2%) had 25(OH)D concentrations <12.5 nmol/l, but 48.9% of women had <25.0 nmol/l, and 97.8% of women had <50 nmol/l. No woman had values above 75 nmol/l. Children had higher (P<0.0001) serum 25(OH)D concentrations than did their mothers with a mean of 55.8 nmol/l. The children also had lower (P<0.0001) mean serum PTH concentrations than did their mothers (1.47 vs 3.12 pmol/l, respectively). Only three children had serum 25(OH)D concentration <25 nmol/l, but 39% (n=34) had 25(OH)D <50.0 nmol/l. Older women and those with five or more pregnancies had significantly reduced mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations. Children living in families with lower income had significantly higher mean serum 25(OH)D concentration as did children consuming fortified milk compared with those consuming non-fortified milk.
Conclusion: Despite the abundant sunlight during summer, vitamin D status is a concern for mothers and children in Jordan.