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Differences in vitamin D status between countries in young adults and the elderly. McKenna MJ. Am J Med. 1992 Jul;93(1):69-77. PMID: 1385673 PURPOSE: To compare vitamin D status between countries in young adults and in the elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Reports on vitamin D status (as assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D) from 1971 to 1990 were reviewed. Studies were grouped according to geographic regions: North America (including Canada and the United States); Scandinavia (including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden); and Central and Western Europe (including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom). RESULTS: Vitamin D status varies with the season in young adults and in the elderly, and is lower during the winter in Europe than in both North America and Scandinavia. Oral vitamin D intake is lower in Europe than in both North America and Scandinavia. Hypovitaminosis D and related abnormalities in bone chemistry are most common in elderly residents in Europe but are reported in all elderly populations. CONCLUSIONS: The vitamin D status in young adults and the elderly varies widely with the country of residence. Adequate exposure to summer sunlight is the essential means to ample supply, but oral intake augmented by both fortification and supplementation is necessary to maintain baseline stores. All countries should adopt a fortification policy. It seems likely that the elderly would benefit additionally from a daily supplement of 10 micrograms of vitamin D.

Estimation of the dietary requirement for vitamin D in free-living adults >=64 y of age. Cashman KD, Wallace JM, Horigan G, Hill TR, Barnes MS, Lucey AJ, Bonham MP, Taylor N, Duffy EM, Seamans K, Muldowney S, Fitzgerald AP, Flynn A, Strain JJ, Kiely M. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1366-74. Epub 2009 Mar 18. PMID: 19297462 doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27334 Conclusion: To ensure that the vitamin D requirement is met by the vast majority (>97.5%) of adults aged ≥64 y during winter, between 7.9 and 42.8 µg vitamin D/d is required, depending on summer sun exposure and the threshold of adequacy of 25(OH)D. .

Teenage girls and elderly women living in northern Europe have low winter vitamin D status. Andersen R, Mølgaard C, Skovgaard LT, Brot C, Cashman KD, Chabros E, Charzewska J, Flynn A, Jakobsen J, Kärkkäinen M, Kiely M, Lamberg-Allardt C, Moreiras O, Natri AM, O'brien M, Rogalska-Niedzwiedz M, Ovesen L. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Apr;59(4):533-41. PMID: 15714215 doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602108 CONCLUSION: Vitamin D status is low in northern Europe during winter. More than one-third of the adolescent girls have vitamin D status below 25 nmol/l and almost all are below 50 nmol/l. Two-thirds of the elderly community-dwelling women have vitamin D status below 50 nmol/l. Use of vitamin D supplements is a significant positive determinant for S-25OHD for both girls and women (P = 0.001). SPONSORSHIP: The European Fifth Framework Programme (Contract No. QLK1-CT-2000-00623)