Effects of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on bone mineral density in very low birth weight preterm infants.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common among very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants due to challenges in achieving adequate enteral nutrition and reduced transplacental transfer. Supplementation with 800 IU/day of vitamin D has been shown to safely and effectively increase serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels above 30 ng/mL when initiated at two weeks of age and continued until hospital discharge.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether daily supplementation with 800 IU of vitamin D significantly improves bone mineral density, as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), in VLBW infants at discharge, compared to supplementation with 400 IU/day.