The effect of multiple micronutrient fortified milk consumption on vitamin D status among school-age children in rural region of Morocco.

Vitamin D deficiency is a health problem in both developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of multivitamin fortified milk consumption on vitamin D status among children living in the mountainous region of Morocco. 7 to 9 years old children (n=239; 49% of girls vs 51% of boys) have participated in a double blind longitudinal study, where they were divided in two groups: a fortified group who received daily 200 mL of fortified Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk enriched with 3μg of vitamin D3 and a non-fortified group who received 200 mL of non-fortified UHT milk with a natural abundance of vitamin D3 (about 1.5µg). Blood samples were collected three times (at baseline, after 4 and 9 months). The average weight, height and BAZ of participants were 22.8±2.6 kg, 121.5±5.2 cm and -0.2±0.6 kg/m² respectively. At baseline, 47.5% of children had a concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) below 50 nmol/L. At the end of the study the prevalence of vitamin D <50 nmol/L decreased significantly by 37.6 % in the fortified group. These results reveal prevalent vitamin D insufficiency (<50 nmol/L) during winter among rural Moroccan school age children, which seems to be better improved by consuming the fortified milk instead of non-fortified one.