[Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency in the Child and Adolescent. I. Proposal and Arguments for Use of a Decision Tree]

A decision-making table, using three questionnaires, is proposed to determine the vitamin D status in children and adolescents. The first questionnaire assesses the vitamin D endogenous synthesis, taking into account the sunlight exposure and the time interval out of the sun. The second questionnaire quantifies the vitamin D dietary intake within three levels: optimal, medium or low. In case of a medium dietary score, a third questionnaire evaluates the daily calcium intake, taking into account the fact that vitamin D metabolism is increased by a low calcium intake (under 400 mg/day). This decision-making table should enable the detection of children and adolescents at risk of vitamin D deficiency and requiring an adapted prophylaxis. Its accuracy will be assessed in prospective surveys.