Children deficient in vitamin D have an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disease as adults, according to a team of researchers.
- A study conducted in Canada reveals that vitamin D deficiency during childhood could increase the risk of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.
- Vitamin D plays a key role in the proper functioning of the thymus, an organ that trains the immune system not to attack healthy tissue. In the absence of vitamin D, the thymus ages more quickly, disrupting this process.
- In France, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency concerns nearly 7% of adults and 4% of children, and reaches 13% among adolescents, according to a Public Health France survey.
Provided by food and synthesized thanks to the sun, vitamin D is essential for the proper functioning of the body. Known for its role in calcium absorption and bone strength, it is also essential for regulating the immune system. However, the majority of the population is deficient in vitamin D, which can lead to multiple health complications.
A new study, carried out in Canada by McGill University, highlights a little-known danger of this deficiency in young people: an increased risk of autoimmune diseases in adulthood.
Vitamin D deficiency accelerates the aging of the thymus
The researchers, who published their results in the journal Science Advanceshighlighted the impact of a lack of vitamin D on the thymus, an organ essential for the proper development of the immune system in children. The latter trains immune cells to recognize body tissues to prevent them from attacking them by mistake. However, in the absence of vitamin D, this vital process becomes disrupted.
Professor John White, lead author of the study, explains in a press release that vitamin D deficiency accelerates the aging of the thymus. Gold, “An aging thymus becomes ‘leaky’, leaking immune cells that can attack healthy tissue, increasing the risk of autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes.”he specifies.
In certain regions of Canada, where the body’s production of vitamin D stops between fall and spring due to lack of sunlight, it is essential to ensure adequate intake, particularly among children. “Supplementation then becomes crucial”insists Professor White. He recommends that parents consult their doctor to make sure their children are getting the right amount of vitamin D, especially in winter.
7 out of 10 children are vitamin D deficient
In France too, to a lesser extent, we lack vitamin D: only 1 in 4 adults and 3 in 10 children have an adequate threshold, according to a Public Health France survey carried out until 2016. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency concerns nearly 7% of adults and 4% of children, and reaches 13% among adolescents. But “it is possible to correct this deficit and prevent it by adopting a healthy lifestyle”, reminds Inserm.
As a reminder, daily vitamin D intake is most often covered by two things. On the one hand, exposure to the sun: it is recommended to expose yourself 15 to 20 minutes per day at the end of the morning or in the afternoon. On the other hand, food: many products are rich in vitamin D such as fatty fish (herring, sardines, salmon, etc.), mushrooms (chanterelles, porcini mushrooms and morels), egg yolk, chocolate black, butter and margarines or even offal.
