Veils and dark skin risk rickets Pregnant women who have dark
skin or wear veils are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency,
which can lead to rickets in children, studies in Melbourne have
found. Two studies reported in the Medical Journal of Australia
this week found that a high proportion of dark-skinned and/or
veiled women had vitamin D levels below the ideal. As well as
problems such as rickets for the infants, a deficiency in adults
can lead to bone-softening conditions such as osteomalacia and
muscle disorders. "We are not suggesting people ignore health
warnings to go out into the sun," said Dr Ruth Morley from the
Royal Children's Hospital, co-author of one of the studies. "We
would like people to take vitamin D supplements." Ninety per
cent of vitamin D in the body is derived from the chemical
reaction that occurs when ultraviolet B light hits the skin.
Dark skin does not absorb as much ultraviolet B as light skin,
and people who wear clothing that covers all their skin are not
exposed at all to the s