Vitamin D deficiency in the elderly in Athens, Greece

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency characterized by low 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels has been found to be prevalent among the elderly in many regions of the world. To investigate the vitamin status in elderly community-living persons in Athens, we measured 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in elderly persons and young blood donors during the winter and summer. The changes in these parameters in a subgroup of the elderly were studied longitudinally. The blood donors had mean 25(OH)D levels similar in winter and summer and twice as high in winter compared to the elderly. At the end of the winter, about 20% of the elderly had severe vitamin D deficiency, with 25(OH)D below 25 nmol/l, and only 6.5% could be judged as vitamin D sufficient with values above 80 nmol/l. The situation improved during summer, although 64.8% of the elderly continued to have levels below 80 nmol/l. Mean plasma PTH in the elderly in summer was not different from that of blood donors; however, it was doubled during the winter. Regression of PTH on 25(OH)D demonstrated that PTH starts to rise when 25(OH)D falls below approximately 80 nmol/l. We conclude that severe vitamin deficiency associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism is not uncommon in the elderly in Athens during the winter; it subsides during summer, although only one-third of the elderly population attain vitamin D sufficiency during summer. We found that a threshold value of 25(OH)D exists at approximately 80 nmol/l, below which secondary hyperparathyroidism ensues, as described previously.

A Deficiência de vitamina d está associada com níveis aumentados de il-17 e tnfα em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca crônica

“…The annual solar radiation according to the Republic hydrometeorogical service of Serbia is between 1500-2200 h annually, which is a higher rate than in most European countries. A similar finding has been observed in the elderly population in Croatia and Greece, also located in Southeast Europe 20,21 . As hypertension represents a major factor responsible for the development of CHF 3 , we investigated patients with CHF secondary to hypertension in more detail.…”

Vitamin D deficiency in white, apparently healthy, free-living adults in a temperate region

“…The only plausible explanation for the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in these subjects (peasants and farmers) is that they cover the whole body with clothes, except for the face and hands when outdoors, even during summer. In the second study 18 that included 279 elderly subjects (231 women and 48 men, median age 71 and 72 yr, respectively) living in the same area as the subjects of our study, only 6.5% could be considered as vitamin D sufficient [25(OH) [1][2][3] This is further supported by the finding that about 5% of our subjects presented values at high-normal levels (>50pg/ml, 120pmol/L).…”

“…1,[13][14][15][16] It should be mentioned, that there are two previous studies reporting data from our region. 17,18 In one of these (the SENECA study), 17 the population examined included 109 (48 males and 61 females) free living, aged (~80yr) subjects from three rural regions of the sunniest in Greece (the Athens environs and the island of Crete). During winter they observed a very high proportion of abnormally low serum 25(OH) Vitamin D values (<15ng/ml, 37.5nmol/L) (about 80% in women and 50-70% in men).…”

“…[19][20][21][22] Furthermore, as far as we know, the influence of age by stratification of the subjects into small age groups as carried out in our cohort has not been studied in detail, especially with regard to seasonal variations. 2,[5][6][7]9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Concerning the older group, although during March-May their percentage of abnormally low serum 25(OH)Vitamin D values was much lower than that of the younger age groups, they had only a slightly decreased percentage during July-October. As a consequence during this period they presented about double the frequency of abnormally low serum 25(OH)Vitamin D values in comparison to the other age groups.…”

Height, Whole Body Surface Area, Gender, Working Outdoors, and Sunbathing in Previous Summer are Important Determinants of Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Levels

“…Pazaitou-Panayiotou K et al Body Surface Area and 25-hydroxyvitamin D Levels … Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2012; 120: [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Subjects and Methods ▼…”