Palatability of Vitamin D3 Preparations Modulates Adherence to the Supplementation in Infancy

The consequences of vitamin D deficiency can be severe. It is therefore recommended that Swiss infants have a minimum intake of 10 µg of vitamin D3 per day during the first 12 mo of life (1). For this purpose they are prescribed an “alcoholic” preparation that contains vitamin D3 (1). Infants given preparations containing vitamin D3 either dissolved in alcohol or in peanut oil very much prefer the “oily” form (2). As a consequence, beginning on the first of January 2005, we replaced the traditional alcoholic vitamin D3 formulations and replaced it with the peanut oil formulation. There are conflicting data concerning whether palatability is important for adherence to the recommended regimen of care and persistence with it over time (3, 4). The adherence to the supplementation with vitamin D3 was therefore compared in Swiss infants prescribed either “alcoholic” or “oily” vitamin D3. A preliminary account of the results obtained in infants prescribed “alcoholic” vitamin D3 has been published elsewhere as a letter (5).