Am J Public Health. 2007 Oct;97(10):1746-54. Epub 2007 Aug 29.
Rajakumar K, Greenspan SL, Thomas SB, Holick MF.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa 15213, USA. kumaravel.rajakumar at chp.edu
Rickets, the state of vitamin D deficiency, has reemerged as a potential problem in the United States. At the dawn of the 20th century, rickets was pervasive among infants residing in the polluted cities of Europe and the northeastern United States. Important milestones in the history of rickets were the understanding that photosynthesized vitamin D and dietary vitamin D were similar, the discernment of the antirachitic potency of artificial and natural ultraviolet rays, and the discovery that ultraviolet irradiation could render various foods antirachitic. Clinical guidelines were instituted to promote sensible exposure to sunlight and artificial ultraviolet radiation. In addition, irradiated ergosterol from yeast became the major vitamin D source for food fortification and the treatment of rickets, leading to a public health campaign to eradicate rickets by the 1930s. We review the sequence and turn of events pertaining to the discovery of vitamin D and the strategies for the eradication of the reemerging rickets problem.
PMID: 17761571
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See also Vitamin D Life
- Overview UV and vitamin D
- UV, sunshine, and vitamin D (87 charts) - Holick March 2013 6 years later, also by Holick
- UV and Vitamin D with in vitro model – PhD WJ Olds 2010
- Vitamin D important papers from 1645 to 2013 – Nov 2013 other history
- History of vitamin D – Nov 2012
- Vitamin D history back to Egyptians and fortification - Aug 2011
- History of rickets and sunshine in a bottle then vitamin D – Jan 2012