Effect of weekly vitamin D supplements on mortality, morbidity, and growth of low birthweight term infants in India up to age 6 months: randomised controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

Weekly vitamin D improved vitamin D status and modestly improved growth, but it did not reduce death or severe morbidity compared with placebo. The primary outcome of hospital admission or death by 6 months was not significant: adjusted rate ratio 0.93 (0.68 to 1.27), P=0.64. Deaths were similar (20 vs 19), and severe morbidity was also not significantly different (adjusted P=0.12). At 6 months, severe vitamin D deficiency was less common in the vitamin D group (18 [8] vs 92 [39]), while adequate vitamin D status was more common (122 [57] vs 63 [27]). Adjusted anthropometric differences…

Study & population

Randomized controlled trial in singleton term infants with low birthweight enrolled within 48 hours of birth from Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, India, an urban low-income setting.

Intervention

Infants in the active arm received 35 µg (1400 IU) of granulated vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) orally once weekly, dissolved in a small amount of expressed breast milk.

Key limitation

The intervention did not improve the main clinical endpoints of mortality or severe morbidity, so the clinical significance of the biological and growth benefits is limited.

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Original abstract