Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) and Vitamin D Status in Chinese Children
What it found
In a survey of 1,435 Chinese children aged 3 to 5, those with vitamin D2 detected in their blood had higher total vitamin D levels and were less likely to be vitamin D deficient.
The study was done in people.
What they found
Studies in people
Vitamin D deficiency
Overall, 8.9% of the children had vitamin D deficiency, defined as total serum 25(OH)D below 30 nmol/L. Deficiency was more common at latitudes above 30° N in November and December.
Vitamin D2 detection
Vitamin D2 was detected in 10.9% of the children's blood samples. Vitamin D3 was found in all samples.
Higher vitamin D with D2
After adjusting for other factors, children with vitamin D2 detected had total 25(OH)D levels 8.48 nmol/L higher than those without it. The median total 25(OH)D was 55.0 nmol/L in the detected group versus 48.3 nmol/L in the undetected group.
Lower deficiency odds
Children without detectable vitamin D2 had 4.20 times higher odds of vitamin D deficiency than those with it detected, after adjusting for other factors.
Other findings
Possible food sources
The authors note that vitamin D2 comes from foods like mushrooms, fermented food and yeast, which are commonly eaten in China. This may explain the vitamin D2 levels seen.
What the authors conclude
“Vitamin D2 may play a role in preventing vitamin D deficiency in Chinese children aged 3-5 years.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that vitamin D deficiency is relatively common among children aged 3 to 5 years in China, especially those living above 30° N latitude in November and December.
- They say that dietary vitamin D2 might contribute to vitamin D status for some of these children and might be considered for improving vitamin D levels in this age group in China.
- They recommend further studies using longitudinal designs to assess how much vitamin D2 intake contributes to overall vitamin D status in people at risk of deficiency.
How it was done
Vitamin D deficiency is common worldwide, and there is little evidence on how vitamin D2 from food contributes to vitamin D status. The authors wanted to describe vitamin D status in young Chinese children and assess the role of vitamin D2.
They used data from the Chinese National Nutrition and Health Surveillance in 2013, a survey of children aged 3 to 5 years across 55 sites in China. Blood samples from 1,435 children were tested for 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 using a lab method called LC-MS/MS.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a survey, so it can show a link between vitamin D2 and vitamin D status but cannot prove that vitamin D2 causes higher vitamin D levels.
- The survey was done from October to January, mostly in winter, so the overall deficiency rate may be overestimated for the whole year.
- The study did not collect information on how much vitamin D2 the children ate, so it cannot say how much dietary vitamin D2 is needed.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by National Special Program for Science & Technology Basic Resources Investigation of China; The Major Program for Healthcare Reform from the Chinese National Health and Family Plan-ning Commission (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, China
The paper
- Title
- Relationship between Serum 25OH-Vitamin D2 Level and Vitamin D Status of Children Aged 3-5 Years in China
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Pang X, Yang Z, Wang J, et al (2021). Relationship between Serum 25OH-Vitamin D2 Level and Vitamin D Status of Children Aged 3-5 Years in China. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu13114135Free full textPubMed 34836390DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error