The recommendation came out of a study carried out on 14 children withvitamin D deficiency by scientists at Burnley General Hospital.
Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, the scientists foundthat 13 of the 14 cases of vitamin D deficiency, the majority identifiedbetween 2000 and 2005, were of Asian origin. None had received vitamin Dsupplements.
Children who lack vitamin D can suffer rickets, poor tooth formation andstunted growth. People who have darker skin are at greater risk, becauseincreased pigmentation reduces the body's ability to manufacture thevitamin from sunlight.
In recent years, health authorities, including that in Burnley, havestopped vitamin D supplements, since overall levels of vitamin Ddeficiency are low.
The authors concluded that the rate of deficiency was one in 117 Asianchildren, compared with one in 923 children overall.
They added that it costs several thousand pounds less to providesupplements than to treat the problems caused by the deficiency.
