Babys Soft Spot Linked to Vitamin Deficiency
Reported March 31, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A soft spot on the top of the head is common in newborns, but it might not be as normal as some people think. A new study out of Japan suggests the condition is linked to a deficiency of the sunshine vitamin — vitamin D.
Researchers arrived at those conclusions after assessing 1,120 newborns for a softening of the skull bones, known medically as craniotabes. Twenty-two percent of the babies were found to have the condition, and further analysis linked the occurrence of craniotabes with the season of birth. That could mean babies born in lower sunshine months are more at risk for the condition because they and their mothers received less sunlight.
The research also raises questions about the link between breastfeeding and craniotabes, finding breastfed babies, who were not receiving a formula fortified with vitamin D, were more likely to have lower blood levels of the vitamin.
Since vitamin D deficiency has been associated with lower bone density and other health problems, the researchers suggest supplements may be in order for mother and child.
Until more research is done on the effects of perinatal vitamin D deficiency, we suggest treating breastfed infants with craniotabes with vitamin D, or preferably, treating all pregnant women with vitamin D, study author Tohru Yorifuji, M.D., Ph.D., of Kyoto University Hospital, was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: To be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism