1 in 5 Canadians have inadequate Vitamin D (less than 16 ng), far more if dark skinned – Canada April 2023

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Vitamin D Status of People 3 to 79 Years of Age from the Canadian Health Measures Survey 2012-2019

J Nutr. 2023 Apr;153(4):1150-1161. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.026
Hope A Weiler 1, Kurtis Sarafin 2, Chantal Martineau 3, Janice L Daoust 3, Krista Esslinger 4, Linda S Greene-Finestone 5, Lidia Loukine 6, Veronique Dorais 6

Background: Vitamin D is recognized in bone health and the prevention of rickets and osteomalacia.

Objective: This study aimed to assess vitamin D status of people in Canada and to identify factors associated with vitamin D inadequacy and deficiency.

Methods: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (cycles 3-6, n = 21,770, 3-79 y) were evaluated for geometric means and proportions <40 (inadequate) and <30 (risk of deficiency) nmol/L. Factors associated with inadequacy or deficiency were tested using logistic regression.

Results: Mean serum 25(OH)D was 57.9 (95% CI: 55.4, 60.5) nmol/L; the

• prevalence of inadequacy was 19.0% (95% CI: 15.7, 22.3) and
• risk of deficiency was 8.4% (95% CI: 6.5, 10.3).

Prominent dietary factors associated with inadequacy in adults included:

• not consuming fish compared with ≥1/wk (adjusted ORadj: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.11),
• none compared with ≥1/d for cow's milk (ORadj: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.94) or
• margarine (ORadj: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.88); or
• nonuser compared with user of vitamin D supplements (ORadj: 5.21; 95% CI: 3.88, 7.01).

Notable demographic factors included:

• younger adults compared with 71 to 79 y (19-30 y ORadj: 2.33; 95% CI: 1.66, 3.29);
• BMI ≥30 compared with <25 kg/m2 (ORadj: 2.30; 95% CI: 1.79, 2.95);
• lower household income quartile 1 compared with 4 (ORadj: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.15); and

self-reported

• Black (ORadj: 8.06; 95% CI: 4.71, 13.81),
• East/Southeast Asian (ORadj: 3.83; 95% CI: 2.14, 6.85),
• Middle Eastern (ORadj: 4.57; 95% CI: 3.02, 6.92), and
• South Asian (ORadj: 4.63; 95% CI: 2.62, 8.19) race compared with White.

Similar factors were observed in children and for deficiency.

Conclusions: Most people in Canada have adequate vitamin D status; nonetheless, racialized groups have an elevated prevalence of inadequacy. Further research is required to evaluate if current strategies to improve vitamin D status, including increasing vitamin D in fortified foods and supplements, and dietary guidance to include a source of vitamin D every day help to reduce health inequality in Canada.
 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

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20 most-recently changed items in Vitamin D in Canada Category of 51 items

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Vitamin D Life – Overview Deficiency of vitamin D contains

FACT: Much of the world is now vitamin D deficient
OBSERVATION:There are many reasons that a person may be vitamin D deficient
11 of the reasons for the epidemic are new in the past 40 years, Example: Air Conditioning
OBSERVATION: The more reasons that apply to an individual, the more likely he is to be deficient (additive reasons)
FACT: Vitamin D Deficiency has been associated with many diseases

FACT: Vitamin D intake can be increased by supplements, injection, UV, and sun (very little by food) 112 items

FACT: Adding vitamin D to diets has been proven E1 E2 in clinical trials to both PREVENT some and TREAT some diseases
OBSERVATION: Adding vitamin D (intervention) does PREVENT and TREAT additional diseases - more trials are underway
OBSERVATION: There are at least 10 ways to increase the response by the blood to vitamin D intake

Details at Vitamin D Life

• All items: Deficiency of Vitamin D 453 items
• Incidence of 22 health problems related to vitamin D have doubled in a decade many charts
• Vitamin D levels have been crashing since 1995 (Polish Children, Elite Military, etc)
• People with gut problems are low on vitamin D – April 2011
• Concealing clothing resulted in only 8 ng vitamin D – Feb 2011
• 23 ng of vitamin D in sunny Israel – Dec 2010
• Need to avoid the sun during the summer in Dubai
• Vitamin D deficiency spares no body part – NE Asia – Jan 2013
  • Diseases associated with Winter and the North are occurring in the Summer now that they can avoid the extreme summer heat with air conditioning
• Vitamin D less than 22 ng in Greece half of the year– May 2011
• Vitamin D insufficiency in UK youths – 37X more likely if dark skin – July 2011
• All items in Far From Equator 124 items
• Beijing extremely vitamin D deficient even in the fall: 10 ng – April 2013
• 93 % of US children had less than 30 ng of vitamin D Oct 2021
• 92 % of ALL Germans less than 30 ng - Jan 2012
• 92 % of German elderly less than 30 ng - Jan 2012
• 91 % of Japanese women less than 30 ng - 2012
• 90 % of Canadian youth less than 30 ng vitamin D – Oct 2010
• 90 % of Swiss men have less than 30 ng of vitamin D in the winter – Nov 2012
• 90 % of young health care professionals had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – Nov 2011
• 87 % of Tennessee general medicine patients had less than 32 ng of vitamin D – Jan 2011
• 86 % of UK elderly less than 30 ng - Jan 2010
• 86 % of US military has less than 32 ng of Vitamin D – Dec 2020
• 82 % of Swedes did not have the recommended amount of vitamin D – Feb 2011
• 80 % of teens in Europe had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – Aug 2011
• 79 % of middle aged Americans had less than 32 ng of vitamin D – July 2010
• 76 % of Irish had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – April 2013
• 70 % of Koreans in their twenties had less than 20ng of vitamin D – Dec 2010
• 50 % of Quebec kids had less than 20 ng of vitamin D – Milk and movement did not help – Mar 2011
• 42 % of US adults less than 20 ng of vitamin D and 82 % of blacks – Jan 2011
• 33 % of pre-teens in Tehran had less than 5 ng of vitamin D – Feb 2011
• 30 % of US had less than 20 ng of vitamin D - CDC March 2011
• 27 % of Turkish mothers has less than 11 ng of vitamin D
• Vitamin D could save More than 10,000 Canadian lives annually LEF
• Teens increasingly indoors - especially if dark skin - July 2010
• Criteria to associate a disease with the lack of vitamin D
• Many reasons why vitamin D deficiency has become epidemic
• Ways to increase the amount of vitamin D you get from the sun
• Review of Vitamin D Deficiencies in developing countries - Oct 2011
• Military and Vitamin D - many studies
• Quick, free, self test of vitamin D deficiency

• Health problem frequency - 1997 = rates of occurrence of human health problems

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Vitamin D Life – Is 50 ng of vitamin D too high, just right, or not enough