High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among children aged 1 month to 16 years in Hangzhou, China.

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Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Recent studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency in children is widespread. But the vitamin D status of Chinese children is seldom investigated. The objective of the present study was to survey the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in more than 6,000 children aged 1 month to 16 years in Hangzhou (latitude: 30degreesN), the capital of Zhejiang Province, southeast China.

METHODS:
The children aged 1 month to 16 years who came to the child health care department of our hospital, the children’s hospital affiliated to Zhejiang university school of medicine, for health examination were taken blood for 25(OH) D measurement. Serum 25(OH) D levels were determined by direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and categorized as <25, <50, and <75 nmol/L.

RESULTS:
A total of 6,008 children aged 1 month to 16 years participated in this cross-sectional study. All the subjects were divided into subgroups according to their age: 0-1y, 2-5y, 6-11y and 12-16y representing infancy, preschool, school age and adolescence stages respectively. The highest mean level of serum 25(OH)D was found in the 0-1y stage (99 nmol/L) and the lowest one was found in 12-16y stage (52 nmol/L). Accordingly, the prevalence of serum 25(OH)D levels of <75 nmol/L and <50 nmol/L were at the lowest among infants (33.6% and 5.4% respectively) and rose to the highest among adolescents (89.6% and 46.4% respectively). The mean levels of serum 25(OH)D and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency changed according to seasons. In winter and spring, more than 50% percent of school age children and adolescents had a 25(OH)D level at <50 nmol/L. If the threshold is changed to <75 nmol/L, all of the adolescents (100% percent) had low 25(OH)D levels in winter and 93.7% school age children as well.
CONCLUSIONS:

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among children in Hangzhou Zhejiang province is high, especially among children aged 6-16 years. We suggest that the recommendation for vitamin D supplementation in Chinese children should be extended to adolescence.

BMC Public Health. 2012 Feb 14;12(1):126

Epidemic vitamin d deficiency among patients in an elderly care rehabilitation facility.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Many benefits are ascribed to vitamin D beyond its well-known effects on calcium and bone metabolism. Vitamin D in adequate amounts is apparently beneficial to muscle, lessening the risk of falls and fractures in the elderly. The elderly produce less vitamin D in their skin than younger persons do, and they also spend less time in the sun; they are therefore at greater risk of vitamin D deficiency.

METHODS:
We used gas chromatography with mass spectrometry coupling to measure the 25-OH-vitamin D level of 1578 elderly persons (72% women) who were consecutively admitted to an elderly care rehabilitation facility in Trier, Germany, from July 2009 to March 2011. Their mean and median age was 82 years.

RESULTS:
89% of the patients had 25-OH-vitamin D deficiency (defined as a level below 20 ng/mL), and 67% had a severe deficiency (below 10 ng/mL). Only 4% had levels in the target range (30-60 ng/mL); none had a level above 100 ng/mL.

CONCLUSION:
Many of these patients were deficient in vitamin D. Persons of very advanced age need a better supply of vitamin D not only to keep their bones healthy, but also to lessen the risk of falls and fractures.

Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012 Jan;109(3):33-8. Epub 2012 Jan 20.

Vitamin D serum levels in allergic rhinitis: any difference from normal population?

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Recently it has been suggested that, the worldwide increase in allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and food allergy is associated with low vitamin D intake.

OBJECTIVE:
This study measured the vitamin D levels in patients with allergic rhinitis and compared the results with the general population.

METHODS:
Vitamin D levels were assessed in 50 patients with allergic rhinitis diagnosed clinically by Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma 2008 criteria and the result of skin prick test for aeroallergens. There was no control group, and the study results were compared with the results of another study evaluating vitamin D status in the 5,329 people of normal population of Iran.

RESULTS:
The prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency was significantly higher in patients with allergic rhinitis than the normal population, 30% and 5.1% respectively (p = 0.03). Also women with allergic rhinitis had lower vitamin D levels.
CONCLUSION:

Measuring vitamin D serum levels could be helpful in the routine assessment of patients with allergic rhinitis in Iran.

Impact of oral vitamin D supplementation on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in oncology.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is the major circulating form of vitamin D and a standard indicator of vitamin D status.

Emerging evidence in the literature suggests a high prevalence of suboptimal vitamin D (as defined by serum 25(OH)D levels of <32 ng/ml) as well as an association between lower serum levels and higher mortality in cancer.

We investigated the effect of oral vitamin D supplementation as a means for restoring suboptimal levels to optimal levels in cancer.

METHODS:

This is a retrospective observational study of 2198 cancer patients who had a baseline test prior to initiation of cancer therapy at our hospital to evaluate serum 25(OH)D levels between Jan 08 and Dec 09 as part of their initial nutritional evaluation. Patients with baseline levels of < = 32 ng/ml (n = 1651) were considered to have suboptimal serum 25(OH)D levels and were supplemented with 8000 IU of Vitamin D3 (four 2000 IU D3 capsules) daily as part of their nutritional care plan.

The patients were retested at their first follow-up visit. Of 1651 patients, 799 were available for follow up assessment. The mean serum 25(OH)D levels were compared in these 799 patients across the 2 time points (baseline and first follow-up) using paired sample t-test.

We also investigated the factors associated with response to vitamin D supplementation.

RESULTS:

Of 2198 patients, 814 were males and 1384 females. 1051 were newly diagnosed and treated at our hospital while 1147 were diagnosed and treated elsewhere. The mean age at presentation was 55.4 years.

The most common cancer types were breast (500, 22.7%), lung (328, 14.9%), pancreas (214, 9.7%), colorectal (204, 9.3%) and prostate (185, 8.4%). The mean time duration between baseline and first follow-up assessment was 14.7 weeks (median 10.9 weeks and range 4 weeks to 97.1 weeks). The mean serum 25(OH)D levels were 19.1 ng/ml (SD = 7.5) and 36.2 ng/ml (SD = 17.1) at baseline and first follow-up respectively; p < 0.001.

Patients with prostate and lung cancer had the highest percentage of responders (70% and 69.2% respectively) while those with colorectal and pancreas had the lowest (46.7% each). Similarly, patients with serum levels 20-32 ng/ml at baseline were most likely to attain levels > 32 ng/ml compared to patients with baseline levels < 20 ng/ml.

CONCLUSIONS:

The response to supplementation from suboptimal to optimal levels was greatest in patients with prostate and lung cancer as well as those with baseline levels between 20-32 ng/ml. Characteristics of non-responders as well as those who take longer to respond to supplementation need to be further studied and defined. Additionally, the impact of improved serum 25(OH)D levels on patient survival and quality of life needs to be investigated.

Nutr J. 2010 Nov 23;9:60.
Vashi PG, Trukova K, Lammersfeld CA, Braun DP, Gupta D.
Source

Cancer Treatment Centers of America® at Midwestern Regional Medical Center, 2610 Sheridan Road, Zion, IL 60099, USA.

Increased Vitamin D Can Help Produce Antioxidants

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What is vitamin D3?

Did you know that we can only synthesize vitamin D through certain foods, milk and exposure to the sun? Did you know that vitamin D is technically a hormone and not a vitamin? An increased intake of food and beverages like fortified milk, egg yolks, wild salmon and cereal can help to increase levels of vitamin D in our system, but in almost all cases, it is still not enough. Many people are vitamin D and vitamin D3 deficient due to lack of sun exposure and not getting enough D from a daily diet.

Vitamin D and vitamin D3 deficiency can cause all kinds of health problems. As the body produces free radicals to aid the metabolic process, such as digestion and converting food into energy, the body can over-produce these free radicals, causing them to turn against us. We cannot escape free radicals, but we can arm ourselves against them when they start to over-produce. The best defense is anti-oxidants.

Increased vitamin D and vitamin D3 can produce glutathione which is the most abundant antioxidant found in human cells. In fact, glutathione is attracted to free radicals and increasing vitamin D through supplements produces glutathione in your body to sustain good health.

If your body was deprived of glutathione your liver would become toxic and your immune system would crash – leaving you susceptible to bacteria and serious illnesses, allowing your body to succumb to oxidative stress and destructive free radical cells.

Increasing antioxidants in your system like taking vitamin D and vitamin D3 supplements can help fight free radicals and sustain good health.

What Is Vitamin D3?

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Welcome to whatisvitamind3 – Vitamin D3 Blog!  We hope to continue to update you with news regarding the serious condition of vitamin D deficiency and the importance of taking supplements – most importantly vitamin D and vitamin D3 supplements.

Please feel free to comment on any articles we post and give your feedback on how we can better serve you with vitamin D and vitamin D3 information.