BackgroundPhysical and biological risk factors for vitamin D inadequacy are known; however, cultural- and population-specific behaviours and attitudes that influence these risk factors, particularly among Asian people, are less well documented. To understand more about prevailing attitudes and behaviour toward sunlight and knowledge of vitamin D among a population at greater risk of impaired vitamin D status, poor bone health and osteoporosis, we conducted a telephone interview survey of 547 middle-aged and elderly Chinese women living in Hong Kong.MethodsAll telephone interviews were conducted using the Computer Assisted Telephone Technique and target respondents were selected by random sampling. Interviews were conducted in Cantonese and eighteen main questions were asked pertaining to personal characteristics, perceptions, attitudes and behaviour toward sunlight, and knowledge about vitamin D.ResultsThe survey results showed that 62.3% (n = 341) did not like going in the sun and 66.7% of respondents spent an average of 6–10 hours indoors, between 6:30 am and 7:00 pm, during weekdays. However, 58% of people thought that they had enough exposure to sunlight. The majority had heard of vitamin D, but knowledge about the role and sources of vitamin D was low. Among those who knew that sunlight was a source of vitamin D, the majority spent less than 1 h in the sun in the past week (76.4% vs 23.6%, < 1 h in the sun in the past week vs > 1 h in the sun in the past week, chi-square p < 0.05). There were significantly more users of sunscreen products (75.5% vs 53.0%, p < 0.0001, sunscreen users vs non-users) and parasols (68.4% vs 43.7%, p < 0.0001, parasol users vs non-users) among respondents who knew that vitamin D was good for bone health and that sunlight was a source of vitamin D. Age, occupation, subjects who liked going in the sun were factors associated with awareness of vitamin D but age was the only predictive factor for giving correct answers to the actions and sources of vitamin D.ConclusionThe survey revealed considerable ignorance and confusion about the role of sunlight in vitamin D production, and the function and sources of vitamin D. Attitudes and behaviour toward sunlight were largely negative and many took measures to avoid sunlight, particularly among younger (middle-aged) women who had good awareness of vitamin D.

Independent risk factors for osteoporotic fracture were identified for a Southern Chinese postmenopausal population. Clinical risk factor assessment with or without BMD measurement was shown to be an effective predictor of 10-yr risk of osteoporotic fracture and provides a more accessible tool for patient evaluation.Introduction: Asian-specific data on risk factors for osteoporosis remain sparse. However, risk factor assessment, in addition to BMD measurement, is increasingly recognized as a reliable predictor of absolute osteoporotic fracture risk. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the specific independent risk factors for osteoporotic fracture and to predict the 10-yr risk of osteoporotic fracture in the postmenopausal Southern Chinese population. Materials and Methods: A total of 1435 community-dwelling, postmenopausal, treatment-naive women were recruited. Baseline demographic characteristics and clinical risk factors were obtained, and BMD at the spine and hip was measured. Subjects were followed for outcomes of incident low trauma fracture. Ten-year risk of osteoporotic fracture was predicted from the risk factor assessment and BMD measurement by Cox proportional hazards models. Results: The mean age of subjects was 63.4 ± 8.3 yr. After 5.0 ± 2.3 yr (range, 1.0-11.0 yr) of follow-up, 80 nontraumatic new fractures were reported during follow-up. Eight independent clinical risk factors identified at baseline were found to be significant predictors of osteoporotic fracture, with the most important being use of walking aids (RR, 4.2; 95% CI, 2.7-6.7; p < 0.001) and a history of fall (RR, 4.0; 95% CI, 2.5-6.2; p < 0.001). Other predictive factors included being homebound, calcium intake < 400 mg/d, age > 65 yr, history of fracture, and BMI < 19 kg/cm

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a potentially life-threatening complication of thyrotoxicosis. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a replication study with a total of 123 southern Chinese with TPP (cases) and 1,170 healthy controls and identified a susceptibility locus on chromosome 17q24.3 near KCNJ2 (rs312691: odds ratio (OR) = 3.3; P(meta-analysis) = 1.8 × 10(-14)). All subjects with TPP also had Graves' disease, and subsequent TPP versus Graves' disease comparison confirmed that the association at 17q24.3 was specific to TPP. The area under the curve (AUC) of rs312691 genotype for risk prediction of TPP in subjects with Graves' disease was 0.73. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis identified SNPs in the region flanking rs312691 (±10 kb) that could potentially affect KCNJ2 expression (P = 0.0001). Our study has identified a susceptibility locus associated with TPP and provides insight into the causes of TPP.

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