AAP: Low Vitamin D Linked to Slower Fracture Healing in Pediatric Patients
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Oct. 1, 2024 -- For pediatric patients with lower-extremity fracture and surgical management, low vitamin D is associated with slower clinical and radiographic healing, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 in Orlando, Florida.
Catalina Baez, M.D., from the University of Florida Health in Gainesville, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of pediatric patients (aged 0 to 17 years) with extremity fractures and vitamin D level recorded within a year of injury. Data were included for 187 fractures in 166 patients.
Overall, 61.4 percent of the sample had low vitamin D levels. The researchers found that compared with patients with normal vitamin D levels, those with low vitamin D levels had significantly longer clinical (44.0 versus 37.0 days) and radiographic (74.0 versus 39.0 days) healing times. Compared with patients with normal vitamin D levels, lower-extremity fractures in patients with low vitamin D healed slower clinically (53.0 versus 33.0 days) and radiographically (95.0 versus 39.0 days). Similar findings were seen in surgical patients with low vitamin D levels compared with their counterparts with normal vitamin D levels, with slower clinical (83.0 versus 50.0 days) and radiographical (203.0 versus 88.0 days) healing. Compared with patients with normal vitamin D levels, lack of supplementation among patients with low vitamin D levels was associated with longer radiographic healing times (69.0 versus 38.0 days).
"Previous studies have focused more on how vitamin D can help prevent fractures but now we are seeing a link between low vitamin D levels and longer fracture healing times," senior author Jessica McQuerry, M.D., also from the University of Florida, said in a statement.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted October 2024
Read this next
Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...
Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors Increase Risk for Falls in Patients With Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor use is an independent risk factor for falls in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study...
AACR: Incidence-Based Mortality Dropping for Young Women With Breast Cancer
TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Incidence-based mortality (IBM) declined from 2010 to 2020 among women aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study presented...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.