Global vitamin D status and determinants of hypovitaminosis D

Current Scenario of Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Ostensibly Healthy Indian Population: A Hospital Based Retrospective Study

“…Also cutaneous production of Vitamin D declines with age. Most often the elderly have to be confined indoors for prolonged periods of time which further enhances the problem [11]. At present, diagnosis of vitamin D level is one of the most ordered tests by the Indian clinician due to increase awareness in its widespread prevalence of deficiency in different populations of India.…”

“…Therefore, both latitude and seasons influence the degree of possible solar radiation a population may receive. The literature reports strong evidence that hypovitaminosis D is greater in winter months for all age groups in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, and Oceania [11]. However, in very hot countries and where the majority of women wear veils, vitamin D levels were not significantly higher and were even lower in the summer months, as these women avoided the heat and sun by staying indoors.…”

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in orthopaedic patients – A single centre study

“…It plays a crucial role in calcium homeostasis and appropriate serum calcium concentrations are essential for many functions, including proper mineralization of the bone, muscle contraction and transmission of nerve impulses. 1 Chronic vitamin D deficiency leads to osteoporosis, osteomalacia, muscle weakness, osteoarthritis, nonspecific backache, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, generalized body ache, increased risk of falls, etc. 2 Vitamin D deficiency does indeed constitute an epidemic in many populations across the world and has been reported in healthy population across all age groups and both genders.…”

Oral vitamin D supplementation has a lower bioavailability and reduces hypersecretion of parathyroid hormone and insulin resistance in obese Chinese males

“…The US Institute of Medicine (11) reports that a circulating 25(OH)D concentration equal to 50 nmol/l (20 ng/ml) meets the vitamin D requirements of 97·5 % of the population, and this threshold is widely accepted for hypovitaminosis D (10,(12)(13)(14) . Not satisfied with that basic requirement, many researchers claim that improvement of circulating 25(OH)D concentrations to much higher than 50 nmol/l can prevent a broad range of diseases (4,(15)(16)(17) .…”

“…The US Institute of Medicine (11) reports that a circulating 25(OH)D concentration equal to 50 nmol/l (20 ng/ml) meets the vitamin D requirements of 97·5 % of the population, and this threshold is widely accepted for hypovitaminosis D (10,(12)(13)(14) . Not satisfied with that basic requirement, many researchers claim that improvement of circulating 25(OH)D concentrations to much higher than 50 nmol/l can prevent a broad range of diseases (4,(15)(16)(17) .In addition, 25(OH)D ≤25 nmol/l (10 ng/ml) is considered to be 'severe vitamin D deficiency', 75-250 nmol/l (30-100 ng/ml) a 'sufficient or optimal' level and 50-75 nmol/l (21-29 ng/ml) an 'insufficient' level (12,13,18) , although these reference ranges are not defined by the Institute of …”