Friday, September 06, 2013

One-third of world has low vitamin D

A new study in British Journal of Nutrition is one of the first to focus on patterns of vitamin D status worldwide and in key population subgroups, using continuous values for 25(OH)D to improve comparisons. More than one-third of the studies reviewed reported mean serum 25(OH)D values below 50 nmol/l.

The study's key findings include:
  • 37.3% of the studies reviewed reported mean serum 25(OH)D values below 50 nmol/l, values considered inadequate by health authorities worldwide.
  • Only a limited number of studies for Latin America were available.
  • Vitamin D values were higher in North America than in Europe or the Middle-East, but still were lower than they should be.
  • Age-related differences were observed for the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, but not elsewhere.

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