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Hypovitaminosis D in British adults at age 45 y: nationwide cohort study of dietary and lifestyle predictors ^1,2,3

¹ From the Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Background: Increased awareness of the importance of vitamin D to health has led to concerns about the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in many parts of the world.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the white British population and to evaluate the influence of key dietary and lifestyle risk factors.

Design: We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in 7437 whites from the 1958 British birth cohort when they were 45 y old.

Results: The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was highest during the winter and spring, when 25(OH)D concentrations <25, <40, and <75 nmol/L were found in 15.5%, 46.6%, and 87.1% of participants, respectively; the proportions were 3.2%, 15.4%, and 60.9%, respectively, during the summer and fall. Men had higher 25(OH)D concentrations, on average, than did women during the summer and fall but not during the winter and spring (P = 0.006, likelihood ratio test for interaction). 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly higher in participants who used vitamin D supplements or oily fish than in those who did not (P < 0.0001 for both) but were not significantly higher in participants who consumed vitamin D–fortified margarine than in those who did not (P = 0.10). 25(OH)D concentrations <40 nmol/L were twice as likely in the obese as in the nonobese and in Scottish participants as in those from other parts of Great Britain (ie, England and Wales) (P < 0.0001 for both).

Conclusion: Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the general population was alarmingly high during the winter and spring, which warrants action at a population level rather than at a risk group level.

Key Words: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D • vitamin D status • vitamin D supplements • vitamin D deficiency • seasonality • fortified food • population studies • Great Britain

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Reinhold Vieth, Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, Barbara J Boucher, Bess Dawson-Hughes, Cedric F Garland, Robert P Heaney, Michael F Holick, Bruce W Hollis, Christel Lamberg-Allardt, John J McGrath, Anthony W Norman, Robert Scragg, Susan J Whiting, Walter C Willett, and Armin Zittermann
AJCN 2007 85: 649-650. [Full Text]  

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