Vitamin D status of children with cerebral palsy: Should vitamin D levels be checked in children with cerebral palsy?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the vitamin D status of children with cerebral palsy (CP).METHODS: A total of 274 children (111 females and 163 males), aged between 1 and 19 years with CP, who came to thePhysical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pediatric Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic between October 2013 and March 2017, wereincluded in our study. Demographics, data concerning the details of each child’s comorbidity, the Gross Motor Function ClassificationSystem (GMFCS), and Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) scores were recorded. The serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], calcium (Ca), phosphate (P), and parathormone (PTH) levels were also recorded.RESULTS: The mean age of children with CP was 7.59±6.09 years. The distribution by the CP type was 24.8% spasticunilateral, 59.8% spastic bilateral, 1.4% dyskinetic, 0.7% ataxic, 7.6% mixed, and 5.1% unclassified. The serum 25(OH)D levels of the 235 children with CP were measured. There were 79 children at the 25(OH)D level ≤12 ng/ml, regarded asvitamin D deficiency; 62 children at the 25(OH)D level 12-≤20 ng/ml, considered as vitamin D insufficiency, 43 children at the25(OH)D level 20-≤30 ng/ml, considered as vitamin D sufficiency, and 15 children at the 25(OH)D level >30 ng/ml. A totalof 36 children were already taking vitamin D supplements. There was a significant correlation between the 25(OH)D levelsand GMFCS and MACS levels and associated impairments such as the epilepsy history, intellectual delay, teeth problems, andgrowth retardation (p