ScienceDaily (Dec. 29, 2008) — Once believed to be important only for bone health, vitamin D is now seen as having a critical function in maintaining the immune system throughout life. The newly recognized disease risks associated with vitamin D deficiency are clearly documented in a new report.

    Vitamin D deficiency is common across populations and particularly among people with darker skin. Nutritional rickets among nursing infants whose mothers have insufficient levels of vitamin D is an increasingly common, yet preventable disorder.

    Carol Wagner, MD, Sarah Taylor, MD, and Bruce Hollis, PhD, from the Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston), emphasize the need for clinical studies to determine the dose of vitamin D needed to achieve adequate vitamin D levels in breastfeeding mothers and their infants without toxicity.

    The authors point out that vitamin D is now viewed not simply as a vitamin with a role in promoting bone health, but as a complex hormone that helps to regulate immune system function. Long-term vitamin D deficiency has been linked to immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, and cancer.

    "Vitamin D is a hormone not a vitamin and it is not just for kids anymore," writes Ruth A. Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine, from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, in an accompanying editorial. "Perhaps the most startling information is that adults are commonly deficit in modern society. Vitamin D is now recognized as a pivotal hormone in the human immune system, a role far beyond the prevention of rickets, as pointed out in the article by Wagner et al in this month's issue of Breastfeeding Medicine."

    2008年12月28日，《科学日报》载：维他命D过去被认为只对骨骼健康至关重要，如今已被证实对维持人一生中的免疫系统功能健康也起着重要作用。一个新的报告已经很清楚的论证了缺乏维他命D将会导致的疾病危险。

    缺乏维生素D是很常见的，皮肤颜色深的人尤为常见。由于母亲缺乏维生素D而导致母乳哺育的婴儿患上营养不良导致的佝偻症正变得越来越常见，不过这一现象可以被预防。

    南卡罗莱纳州医科大学小儿科学院的医学博士Carol Wagner, Sarah Taylor,和PhD Bruce Hollis都强调有必要进行临床医学研究来来使母乳中维生素D含量维持在充足的分量，而不至于危害婴儿的健康。

    这些发起人指出维他命D不仅维持骨骼健康，还在调节免疫系统方面扮演了一个重要的就像荷尔蒙一样的角色。长期缺乏维生素可导致免疫紊乱，从而患上多重硬化症，风湿导致的关节炎，1型糖尿病，癌症等症状。

    罗切斯特大学医学部的母乳喂养医学教授Lawrence写道：“维他命D不仅仅是维生素，还是荷尔蒙，不仅孩子需要它们。Wagner在本月母乳医学杂志中指出：“让我们吃惊的是，当今社会上很多成年人都缺乏维生素D。维生素D现在已成为人类免疫系统里一个关键的荷尔蒙，它的作用远远不止是预防佝偻。”