Risk Evaluation Of Vitamin D Insufficiency Or Deficiency In Children Using Simple Scores: The Healthy Growth Study

Although identification of population groups at high risk for low vitamin D status is of public health importance,there are no risk prediction tools available for children in Southern Europe that can cover this need. The present study aimed to develop and validate 2 simple scores that evaluate the risk for vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in children. A crosssectional epidemiological study was conducted among 2280 schoolchildren (9?13-year-old) living in Greece. The total sample was randomly divided into 2 subsamples of 1524 and 756 children, used in the development and validation of the 2 scores, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to develop the 2 risk evaluation scores, while receiver operating characteristic curves were employed to identify the optimal ?points of change? for each risk score, upon which vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is diagnosed with the highest possible sensitivity and specificity. The components of the 2 risk evaluation scores included children?s age, gender, region of residence, screen-time, body weight status, maternal education, and season. The increase in each score by 1 unit elevated the likelihood for vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency by 31% and 28%, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic curves showed that the optimal ?points of change? for each risk score, upon which vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency is diagnosed with the highest