What condition associated with a vitamin D deficiency can lead to poor skeletal development in children?

Rickets is a condition specifically linked to vitamin D deficiency and has a profound impact on skeletal development in children. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in calcium and phosphate metabolism, which are vital for healthy bone mineralization. When vitamin D levels are insufficient, children cannot absorb enough calcium from their diets, leading to impaired bone mineralization. This results in the characteristic features of rickets, including soft and pliable bones, delayed motor milestones, and deformities such as bowed legs, despite adequate calcium and phosphate intake.

Scurvy, caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, primarily affects collagen synthesis and leads to issues with connective tissue, but it does not directly relate to skeletal development. Pellagra, caused by a deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3), and beriberi, resulting from a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), also do not influence bone health or skeletal development in the same direct way as rickets does. Therefore, rickets is the key condition to associate with vitamin D deficiency in terms of its significant effects on pediatric skeletal health.