Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston have shown that almost 75 percent of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes are deficient in vitamin D, HealthDay.com reported this week.

“We found in children with type 1 diabetes a pretty significant level of vitamin D insufficiency — much more than we had expected to find,” lead researcher Dr. Britta Svoren told HealthDay.com in a story posted on that group’s web site.

According to the story, “Diabetes is associated with a reduction in bone mineral density, which can make bones more fragile, Svoren noted. Vitamin D deficiency can increase the risk of fracture in these children later in life, she added. In addition, vitamin D may have a role in the risk for developing type 1 diabetes.”

HealthDay.com reported that the researchers found that 61 percent of the children had insufficient levels of vitamin D, and 15 percent had a deficiency in vitamin D, meaning their vitamin D levels were severely low. In fact, only 24 percent of the children had sufficient vitamin D levels. The lowest vitamin D levels were seen among the oldest children. Among adolescents, 85 percent had inadequate levels of the vitamin, Svoren noted.