Aims: Nordic countries share fairly similar food culture and geographical location as well as common nutrition recommendations. The aim of this paper was to review the latest data on vitamin D status and intake and to describe the national supplementation and food fortification policies to achieve adequate vitamin D intake in the Nordic countries. Methods: The data are based on results derived from a literature search presented in a workshop held in Helsinki in November 2018 and completed by recent studies. Results: Vitamin D policies and the implementation of the recommendations differ among the Nordic countries. Vitamin D fortification policies can be mandatory or voluntary and widespread, moderate or non-existent. Vitamin D supplementation recommendations differ, ranging from all age groups being advised to take supplements to only infants. In the general adult population of the Nordic countries, vitamin D status and intake are better than in the risk groups that are not consuming vitamin D supplements or foods containing vitamin D. Non-Western immigrant populations in all Nordic countries share the problem of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. Conclusions: Despite the common nutrition recommendations, there are differences between the Nordic countries in the implementation of the recommendations and policies to achieve adequate vitamin D intake and status. There is a need for wider Nordic collaboration studies as well as strategies to improve vitamin D status, especially in risk groups.

Serum measurement of ECP (eosinophil cationic protein) is used as an indication of eosinophil activation in diseases such as asthma. The levels are dependent on sample handling, since a certain amount of ECP is released during storage. The mechanisms that induce this in vitro release are not known, but are supposed to be related to the coagulation process. The aim of this study was to investigate this further. ECP was measured in EDTA plasma and serum at 22 and 37uC from healthy individuals and patients with asthma and allergy. The serum levels of ECP increased with temperature. Recalci®cation of citrated plasma in the presence of granulocytes with increasing concentrations of Ca 2+ showed a dissociation between the levels of ECP and the occurrence of coagulation. Further experiments indicated that plasma coagulation is not of any importance for the degranulation of eosinophils, nor did the addition of platelets or mononuclear cells affect the ECP levels. Incubations of granulocytes with fresh or frozen plasma and Ca 2+ suggested the existence of a freezing labile factor in plasma, necessary for the degranulation of healthy eosinophils, but not for allergic/asthmatic eosinophils. Further experiments with pure eosinophils indicated the existence of factors in serum and plasma which facilitate ECP secretion of an active, temperature-dependent nature. We conclude that the raised ECP levels in serum, as compared to EDTA plasma, are unrelated to the coagulation process, but are due to the continuous secretion ex vivo of ECP from active eosinophils. This process is time and temperature dependent and may be facilitated by eosinophil-activating components in the extracellular environment.

BackgroundDeterminants of vitamin D status measured as 25-OH-vitamin D in blood are exposure to sunlight and intake of vitamin D through food and supplements. It is unclear how large the contributions are from these determinants in Swedish primary care patients, considering the low radiation of UVB in Sweden and the fortification of some foods. Asian and African immigrants in Norway and Denmark have been found to have very low levels, but it is not clear whether the same applies to Swedish patients. The purpose of our study was to identify contributors to vitamin D status in Swedish women attending a primary health care centre at latitude 60°N in Sweden.MethodsIn this cross-sectional, observational study, 61 female patients were consecutively recruited between January and March 2009, irrespective of reason for attending the clinic. The women were interviewed about their sun habits, smoking, education and food intake at a personal appointment and blood samples were drawn for measurements of vitamin D and calcium concentrations.ResultsPlasma concentration of 25-OH-vitamin D below 25 nmol/L was found in 61% (19/31) of immigrant and 7% (2/30) of native women. Multivariate analysis showed that reported sun holiday of one week during the last year at latitude below 40°N with the purpose of sun-bathing and native origin, were significantly, independently and positively associated with 25-OH-vitamin D concentrations in plasma with the strongest association for sun holiday during the past year.ConclusionsVitamin D deficiency was common among the women in the present study, with sun holiday and origin as main determinants of 25-OH-vitamin D concentrations in plasma. Given a negative effect on health this would imply needs for vitamin D treatment particularly in women with immigrant background who have moved from lower to higher latitudes.

BackgroundImmigration to Sweden from lower latitude countries has increased in recent years. Studies in the general population in other Nordic countries have demonstrated that these groups are at risk of developing vitamin D deficiency, but studies in primary health care patients are rare.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to examine possible differences in plasma-25(OH)-vitamin D levels and intake of vitamin D between Swedish and immigrant female patients in a primary health care centre located at 60°N, where half of the inhabitants have an immigrant background. Another objective was to estimate what foods contribute with most vitamin D.DesignThirty-one female patients from the Middle East and Africa and 30 from Sweden were recruited. P-25(OH)D was measured and intake of vitamin D was estimated with a modified food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).ResultsVitamin D deficiency (plasma-25(OH)D <25 nmol/L) was common among immigrant women (61%). One immigrant woman and half of the Swedish women had optimal levels (plasma-25(OH)D >50 nmol/L). There was a positive correlation between the intake of vitamin D from food and plasma-25(OH)D. Only three women, all Swedish, reached the recommended intake of vitamin D from food. The immigrant women had lower intake compared to Swedish women (median: 3.1 vs. 5.1 µg/day). The foods that contributed with most vitamin D were fatty fish, fortified milk and margarine. Immigrant women consumed less fortified milk and margarine but more meat. Irrespective of origin, patients with plasma-25(OH)D <25 nmol/L consumed less margarine but more meat.ConclusionVitamin D deficiency was common in the immigrant patients and their intake of vitamin D was lower. This highlights the need to target information about vitamin D to immigrant women in order to decrease the risk for vitamin D deficiency. The FFQ was well adapted to its purpose to estimate intake of vitamin D.

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