A reviewed approach to vitamin D supplementation in pediatric age in Portugal

Vitamin D deficiency is a well-established cause of rickets in children and has been reported as associated to impacts on other systems and organs. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are pediatric worldwide global health problems. Although data on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in the Portuguese pediatric population are scarce, data for Portuguese subpopulations and equivalent regions allows us to speculate that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Portugal should be also relevant. The current article focuses on vitamin D supplementation at pediatric age in Portugal reviewing the prevalence data of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency for Portugal, the main groups and the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and educational measures and vitamin D supplementation recommendations for different risk factors/groups.