gms | German Medical Science

German Congress of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery (DKOU 2018)

23.10. - 26.10.2018, Berlin

The idiopathic genu valgum – is vitamin D deficiency a risk factor?

Meeting Abstract

  • presenting/speaker Thomas Brich - Altonaer Kinderkrankenhaus , Abteilung für Kinderorthopädie, Hamburg, Germany
  • Josephine Berger-Groch - Universitätsklinik Hamburg Eppendorf, Klinik für Unfall-, Hand- und Wiederherstellungschirurgie, Hamburg, Germany
  • Norbert Stiel - Altonaer Kinderkrankenhaus , Abteilung für Kinderorthopädie, Hamburg, Germany
  • Eik Vettorazzi - Universitätsklinik Hamburg Eppendorf, Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Hamburg, Germany
  • Ralf Stücker - Altonaer Kinderkrankenhaus , Abteilung für Kinderorthopädie, Hamburg, Germany
  • Martin Rupprecht - Altonaer Kinderkrankenhaus , Abteilung für Kinderorthopädie, Hamburg, Germany

Deutscher Kongress für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie (DKOU 2018). Berlin, 23.-26.10.2018. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2018. DocPT18-1143

doi: 10.3205/18dkou678, urn:nbn:de:0183-18dkou6785

Published: November 6, 2018

© 2018 Brich et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Objectives: Rickets and inflammatory processes were the major causes of axial deformations during growth in the 20th century. Due to our geographical location, the limitation of sunlight exposure, a low oral intake of vitamin D and shorter time spent outdoors-we now see more children with a severe vitamin D deficiency again. The aim of this prospective study was to determine whether there is an association between the frequently observed idiopathic genu valgum and a pronounced vitamin D deficiency in children in our latitudes.

Methods: After approval of ethics committee and statistical case number planning we performed a prospective study on 58 children (aged 10–15) with an idiopathic genu valgum who required surgery. 116 healthy children without corresponding deformity, which due to a non-pathological bone fracture after adequate trauma or other treatment had to undergo a laboratory analysis, were included in our control group. Vitamin D substitutes were excluded from the study.

Vitamin D (vitamin 25-OH-D3) and other bone metabolism parameters (calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, y-GT and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase) were determined in all children.

Results and conclusion: Both groups did not differ in terms of demographic data. Likewise, there were no significant differences in gender distribution. Children of the intervention group were on average 13.24 years old, those of the control group 13.28 years of age.

82.1% of all children showed a severe vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) (82.22% of control and 81.8% of the intervention group). The mean vitamin D level in children with genu valgum was 13.55 ng/ml ± 8.09 (5.20–36.20), in control patients 13.49 ng/ml ± 6.52 (4.00–36.00) (p=0.9632). There were no sex-specific differences with regard to vitamin D levels within the groups.

In our study, most children (82%) with a treatment-worthy idiopathic genu valgum show a severe vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml). However, there are no significant differences to the control group with regard to the incidence and severity of vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, severe vitamin D deficiency does not appear to be an additional risk factor for the development of the idiopathic genu valgum.