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.