GAP Vitamin D Trial
The University of Georgia and Purdue University have partnered up to study vitamin D supplementation in children.
We are pleased to announce that enrollment and testing for the GAPI Vitamin D Trial
was completed during Spring 2011!
We are currently at work on anaylsis and look forward to sharing the results of the study! We would like to thank each of our participants and parents - we enjoyed meeting you all and appreciate your participation. Stay Tuned...
For information on our current nutrition studies or if you would like to be contacted for future trials,
please contact us at bone@uga.edu or at 706-542-4918.
ALL ABOUT THE GAP VITAMIN D TRIAL
The GAP (GA for Georgia and P for Purdue) study is a national vitamin D intervention trial with both The University of Georgia and Purdue University. The purpose of the research is to see whether vitamin D supplements taken each day for 3 months will improve bone health and growth in children.
TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR SCREENING, WE ARE ABLE TO ENROLL:
- 9-12 year old pre-menstrual girls & 10-13 year old boys
- Non-Hispanic, African American
- Generally healthy, with no history of diseases or conditions (few exceptions)
- Child must be willing to provide a blood and urine sample 5 times over 3 months (beginning, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-weeks).
SCREENING INCLUDES:
- A 5-minute questionnaire over the telephone. . .
- followed by developmental/maturation stage questionnaire (see questionnaire at bottom of page). This questionnaire asks you and your child to compare his/her own appearance to picture/drawings representative of each pubertal development stage. We can mail or e-mail this questionniare to you.
ENROLLMENT:
-If eliglible, your child will be placed in either the vitamin D group or placebo (a pill identical to the vitamin D pill, but which does not contain vitamin D.)
- Your child will come to our lab for 5 visits: beginning, and at 3,6,9, and 12 weeks. The beginning and 12-week visits may take up to 3 1/2 - 4 hours (activities will be provided). The 3-, 6-, and 9-week visits are short and will only take 20- 30 minutes.
-You and your child will be asked to fill out consent forms & questionnaires about nutrition, health, bone health, activity, sun exposure and demographics.
-Your child will provide a fasting blood and urine sample, be measured for height & weight, and receive body composition scans. (Registered nurses with pediatric experience will perform blood draws.)
-Your child will receive $50 for the baseline visit, $50 for the 3-week visit, $20 for the 6-week visit, $20 for the 9-week visit, and $60 for the 12-week follow-up visit, for a total of $200 for completing the study.
- All information collected is strictly confidential and voluntary.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Richard Lewis, The University of Georgia
Co-Investigators: Dr. Emma Laing, The University of Georgia
Dr. Dorothy Hausman, The University of Georgia
Dr. Daniel Hall, The University of Georgia
Dr. Connie Weaver, Purdue University
Dr. Munro-Peacock, Indiana University
Dr. Michael Kimlin, Queensland University of Technology
UGA researcher receives $2.2 million grant to study vitamin D levels for children
Writer: Denise H. Horton, 706/542-8014, dhorton@uga.edu
Contact: Rick Lewis, 706/542-4918, rlewis@fcs.uga.edu
Aug 28, 2009 |
Athens, Ga. – A University of Georgia nutrition researcher has been awarded a $2.2 million grant to explore the role vitamin D plays in children’s health and the appropriate dose children should take as daily supplements in order to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D in their bloodstream.
The grant, awarded by the National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, comes on the heels of an Aug. 3 report in the journal Pediatrics showing 60 percent of children and adolescents had insufficient levels of vitamin D.
“The findings in Pediatrics confirmed what we have been seeing in our research,” said Rick Lewis, professor of foods and nutrition in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “In prior research we’ve conducted with female children and adolescents over the course of seven years, we’ve consistently found that they have lower levels of vitamin D than are recommended and that those levels drop as they grow older.”
Although vitamin D has long been considered essential for bone health in individuals of all ages, research on the vitamin has primarily focused on its impact in older adults, Lewis said. Research on older adults also has shown links between vitamin D deficiencies and cancer, diabetes and obesity.
Although it’s recommended that adults maintain a level of vitamin D in their blood stream that equates to 80 nanomoles per liter, the needs of children haven’t been fully established. Currently, the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine recommends children under the age of 13 receive 200 international units daily, while the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children receive 400 international units.
The sun has always been considered a primary source of vitamin D because it causes the vitamin to be synthesized in the skin. However, for those with darker skin, those living in areas where the sun doesn’t shine as frequently, and those who either wear sunblock or don’t get out in the sun for other reasons, supplements have long been considered important in ensuring individuals have enough vitamin D.
During the two-year study, Lewis and fellow UGA researchers Emma Laing and Dorothy Hausman will team with researchers at Purdue University in providing varying doses of vitamin D supplements to boys and girls ranging in age from 9-13, ages deemed as being on the cusp of rapid growth periods. The group also will be evenly divided racially because research has consistently shown that African-American children tend to have lower levels of vitamin D than white children. One goal of the new study is to determine if African-American children and white children respond differently to oral supplements of vitamin D. Another collaborator on the project is Michael Kimlin of Queensland University of Technology in Australia, who will help in collecting sun exposure data for the study.
During the study, researchers will look at several biochemical measures of bone health, including calcium absorption, to determine the appropriate dose of vitamin D supplements children need to ensure that they grow up with strong, healthy bones.
This grant is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
For more information on the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, see http://www.fcs.uga.edu/.
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A video of the news story :
Here's a link:
http://www.wneg32.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1483:uga-researchers-awarded-22-million&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18
You can also just visit www.wnegtv.com.
The story is titled "UGA Researchers Awarded $2.2 Million"
GAP FORMS:
1. Boys maturation questionnaire: drawings
2. Girls maturation questionnaire: drawings vs. photos
3. Parent Consent Form; 4. Child Assent Form
5. Bone Scan Consent Form
6. Driving Directions to Dawson Hall
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