Is Vitamin D Deficiency Hereditary?

Posted on Thu, 5 Mar 2015

Question: there are several family members with vitamin d deficiency. My grandmother, my mother age 67, my son aged 14, my daughter age 9, my nephews aged 13 and 6. Could there be a family genetic reason for this. All these people fail to XXXXXXX in the sun. My son aged 14 is a poor eater everyone else is a very good eater.

Answered by Dr. Moumita Chakraborty,MD (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Yes it can be hereditary reason

Detailed Answer:
Hello Mam!

Welcome to HealthcareMagic!

I understand your concern.Having little vitamin D may not be due solely to diet or lack of sunlight, but may be due to your genes.

But I would like to say that vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, and moreso depending on where you live and the time of year.

As you all are also likely to consume a similar diet, it is possible that a combination of low dietary intake and low exposure to the sun are the similar causes for them. There are other, genetic, reasons that could explain the coincidence as well, but they are much less likely, especially in otherwise healthy individuals.

Your diet should contain vitamin D containing food.Focus on your diet for few months and see for improvement.If it does not improve then you might go for genetic testing.

Hope this helps.Feel free to ask more.
Dr.Moumita Chakraborty

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad