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March 27, 2009 - A significant decrease in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels has led to an increase in vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, especially in racial and ethnic groups, according to results of a population-based study reported in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increases in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection," write Adit A. Ginde, MD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues. "Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality." [...] "These findings have important implications for health disparities and public health," the study authors conclude. "Our data provide additional evidence that current recommendations for vitamin D supplementation (200-600 IU/d) are inadequate to achieve optimal serum 25(OH)D levels in most of the US population." They add that large, randomized controlled trials of higher doses of vitamin D supplementation are needed to evaluate their effect on general health and mortality.

Prevalence of vitamin d insufficiency in patients with Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease.\nEvatt ML, Delong MR, Khazai N, Rosen A, Triche S, Tangpricha V.\nArch Neurol. 2008 Oct;65(10):1348-52.\nPMID: 18852350

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The "sunshine vitamin," vitamin D, is increasingly seen as vital to health, yet more Americans are not getting enough, U.S. researchers said on Monday. Analyzing data from government health surveys, researchers from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine found three out of four Americans had "insufficient" levels of vitamin D, up from about one out two 20 years ago-

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for maintaining normal calcium metabolism (1). Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be synthesized by humans in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from sunlight, or it can be obtained from the diet. Plants synthesize ergosterol, which is converted to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) by ultraviolet light. Vitamin D2 is less active in birds than vitamin D3 and may also be less active in humans (2). When exposure to UVB radiation is insufficient for the synthesis of adequate amounts of vitamin D3 in the skin, adequate intake of vitamin D from the diet is essential for health.

Vitamin D status and its relationship to body fat, final height, and peak bone mass in young women.\nKremer R, Campbell PP, Reinhardt T, Gilsanz V.\nJ Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Jan;94(1):67-73. Epub 2008 Nov 4.\nPMID: 18984659

An association of serum vitamin D concentrations < 40 nmol/L with acute respiratory tract infection in young Finnish men. Laaksi I, Ruohola JP, Tuohimaa P, Auvinen A, Haataja R, Pihlajamäki H, Ylikomi T. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep;86(3):714-7. PMID: 17823437

Vitamin D in preventive medicine: are we ignoring the evidence? Zittermann A. Br J Nutr. 2003 May;89(5):552-72. Review. PMID: 12720576

Association between vitamin D status and physical performance: the InCHIANTI study.\nHouston DK, Cesari M, Ferrucci L, Cherubini A, Maggio D, Bartali B, Johnson MA, Schwartz GG, Kritchevsky SB.\nJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 Apr;62(4):440-6.\nPMID: 17452740

Not enough vitamin D: health consequences for Canadians.\nSchwalfenberg G.\nCan Fam Physician. 2007 May;53(5):841-54. Review.\nPMID: 17872747 \n

Reginster JY. \nPrevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in European postmenopausal women.\nCurr Med Res Opin. 2007 Jul 12; [Epub ahead of print]\nPMID: 17631697 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

van der Mei IA, Ponsonby AL, Dwyer T, Blizzard L, Taylor BV, Kilpatrick T, Butzkueven H, McMichael AJ. \nVitamin D levels in people with multiple sclerosis and community controls in Tasmania, Australia.\nJ Neurol. 2007 May;254(5):581-90. Epub 2007 Apr 11.

Gonzalez G, Alvarado JN, Rojas A, Navarrete C, Velasquez CG, Arteaga E. \nHigh prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Chilean healthy postmenopausal women with normal sun exposure: additional evidence for a worldwide concern.\nMenopause. 2007 May-Jun;14(3

Zittermann A, Schleithoff SS, Koerfer R. \nVitamin D and vascular calcification.\nCurr Opin Lipidol. 2007 Feb;18(1):41-6. Review.\nPMID: 17218831 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Chatfield SM, Brand C, Ebeling PR, Russell DM. Vitamin D deficiency in general medical inpatients in summer and winter. Intern Med J. 2007 Jun;37(6):377-82. PMID: 17535381 [PubMed - in process]

Valimaki VV, Alfthan H, Lehmuskallio E, Loyttyniemi E, Sahi T, Stenman UH, Suominen H, Valimaki MJ.\nVitamin D status as a determinant of peak bone mass in young Finnish men.\nJ Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Jan;89(1):76-80.\nPMID: 14715830 [PubMed - indexe

Valimaki VV, Loyttyniemi E, Valimaki MJ.\nVitamin D fortification of milk products does not resolve\nhypovitaminosis D in young Finnish men.\nEur J Clin Nutr. 2006 Nov 29; [Epub ahead of print]\nPMID: 17136043 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

A study of Caucasian female twins prompts researchers to ask if public health advice to avoid the sun could be causing low vitamin D levels. Research produced by the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, has shown that vitamin D levels are lower in fair-skinned Caucasian women than in Caucasian women with darker skin type. ... "It will be very interesting to see the results of the genetic analysis that the authors propose - especially of polymorphisms [genetic variants] in D binding protein. Variants in this protein associate strongly with skin colour, and also with vitamin D status, so may end up being explanatory.

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) - Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.