How should we give vitamin D supplementation? evaluation of the pediatricians’ knowledge in Turkey

Table 2 Distribution of the participants’ opinion on recommending vitamin D supplement

			Pediatric Resident	Pediatrician	p
			n(%)
To which infants and children do you recommend vitamin D supplement?	Feeding	With breast milk only	16 (14.5)	13 (12.1)
		Regardless of feeding	92 (83.6)	93 (86.9)	0.761
		With formula only	2 (1.8)	1 (0.9)
	To the infants and children with inadequate exposure to the sunlight		26 (23.6)	25 (23.4)	0.127
	With disease likely to impair vitamin D metabolism		22 (20.0)	22 (20.6)	0.133
	Those that experience frequent respiratory tract infection		7 (6.4)	7 (6.5)	0.216
	Those with weakness and muscle pain		7 (6.4)	8 (7.5)	0.200
Why do you recommend vitamin D supplement to the infants and children?	To prevent rickets and vitamin D deficiency		97 (88.2)	104 (97.2)	0.008
	For fontanelle closure		17 (15.5)	4 (3.7)	0.002
	To prevent infections		14 (12.7)	26 (24.3)	0.013
	Other		2 (1.8)	9 (8.4)

Other: Because breast milk contains inadequate vitamin D (n = 3), for protection against allergic diseases (n = 2), to prevent depression (n = 2), because the Ministry of Health supplies vitamin D for free (n = 2), to support the immune system (n = 1), to enable earlywalking (n = 1)

ISSN: 1824-7288