
Keywords: 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Autoimmune diseases, Communicable diseases, Neoplasms, Osteomalacia, Sunlight, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Vitamin D, Vitamin D deficiency Obese patients require 2-3 times more vitamin D to both treat and prevent vitamin D deficiency. The United States Endocrine Society recommended that to prevent vitamin D deficiency in those at risk, children 1 year and older require 600-1,000 international unit (IU) of vitamin D daily and adults require 1,500-2,000 IU of vitamin D daily. The major causes of vitamin D deficiency are lack of adequate sensible exposure to sunlight, inadequate dietary intake and obesity. Vitamin D deficiency is a global health problem that increases risk for metabolic bone diseases in children and adults as well as many chronic illnesses including autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, and cancer. Vitamin D deficiency has been defined as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration < 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) vitamin D insufficiency as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D of 21-29 ng/mL and vitamin D sufficiency as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D of 30-100 ng/mL whereas toxicity is usually not seen until blood levels are above 150 ng/mL. Because foods contain so little vitamin D most humans have always depended on sun exposure for their vitamin D requirement.

Your child's dose will depend on age, weight, diet, and other factors.Vitamin D is a sunshine vitamin that has been produced on this earth for more than 500 million years. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding.ĭo not give ergocalciferol to a child without medical advice. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or if you become pregnant while taking ergocalciferol.Įrgocalciferol can pass into breast milk and may cause side effects in the nursing baby. Too much vitamin D could harm an unborn baby, and your dose needs may be different during pregnancy. Ask a doctor before using ergocalciferol if you have allergies, diabetes, or phenylketonuria (PKU).


