Poor Vitamin D Status in Healthy Populations in India: A Review of Current Evidence

Abstract

Vitamin D defi ciency is associated with rickets in children, with osteoporosis in the elderly, is thought to increase the risk of certain cancers and of cardiovascular diseases, and may have an impact on many other health conditions. Asians are reported to have a poor vitamin D status despite adequate sunshine in their regions. Data on the extent of vitamin D defi ciency at the population level from most Asian countries, including India, are limited. Part of the reason for paucity regarding vitamin D status is the absence of clear recommendations on optimal vitamin D intakes and status, as well as clear consensus on the cut-offs for defi ciency. With a large country covering several latitudes, ethnicities, cultures, traditions, and attitudes, the current data on vitamin D status in India is inadequate and classifi ed in different ways, making interpretation diffi cult, and is unrepresentative as it comes only from four states, with about half the data from Delhi. Poor vitamin D status is almost universally reported across all age groups with as many as 95.7 % neonates, 75 % adults and 67 % pregnant women having serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D levels < 50 nmol/L (defi cient). Children and adults exposed to sunlight, living in rural or less polluted areas have been reported to have a better vitamin D status, especially in summer months. Lack of conclusive information emphasizes the need for state-specifi c data on the vitamin D status and the extent of sun exposure to issue recommendations for vitamin D intake in the country.

Vitamin D status among the elderly Chinese population: a cross-sectional analysis of the 2010–2013 China national nutrition and health survey (CNNHS)

“…As skin exposure to UVB rays serves is a primary source of vitamin D for most people, the exposure period required to achieve an equivalent oral dose of approximately 1000 IU vitamin D increases with increasing latitude [10]; therefore, ambient UVB levels were an expected predictor of vitamin D inadequacy in our study. However, vitamin D deficiency is also common in regions with plentiful sunlight [34, 35]. In China, there was an increasing trend in the risk of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women exposed to low ambient UVB levels [36].…”

Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in an urban informal settlement in Kenya and is associated with malnutrition

“…In tropical or subtropical climes, there is generally abundant exposure to sunlight, but vitamin D deficiency may arise in association with risk factors such as darker skin pigmentation, atmospheric pollution, and covering skin for religious or cultural reasons (Baroncelli et al . , ; Elder & Bishop, ; Trilok Kumar et al, ). However, in such settings, vitamin D deficiency may not be the only cause of rickets.…”

Profile of Vitamin D in patients attending at general hospital Mahad India

“…Its association with various cardiovascular, infectious (tuberculosis), and cancers has been recently reported. [1] Thus, Vitamin D deficiency has a bearing not only on skeletal but also on extraskeletal diseases including neuromuscular, endocrinal, cardiovascular, degenerative, and autoimmune diseases. [2] It is known that on exposure to ultraviolet B rays, Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin.…”