A 45-year-old woman with longstanding Crohn disease and severe fat malabsorption experiences a fracture of the femoral neck after a minor contusion. This woman most likely has a deficiency of which of the following vitamins?

Lipid malabsorption interferes with the absorption of vitamin D, thereby leading to a deficiency state. In adults, vitamin D deficiency results in osteomalacia, a disorder characterized by inadequate mineralization of newly formed bone matrix. The consequent weakness of bone is associated with a vulnerability to spontaneous fractures. Vitamin D deficiency in children is termed rickets. Deficiencies in the other choices are not associated with these bone abnormalities.Diagnosis: Osteomalacia, vitamin D deficiency