J Korean Med Sci.  2014 Jan;29(1):149-152. 10.3346/jkms.2014.29.1.149.

High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults Aged 50 Years and Older in Gwangju, Korea: the Dong-gu Study

• Song HR
• Kweon SS
• Choi JS
• Rhee JA
• Lee YH
• Nam HS
• Jeong SK
• Park KS
• Ryu SY
• Choi SW
• Shin MH

• KMID: 1796930
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2014.29.1.149

Abstract

Vitamin D plays an important role in bone metabolism and maintaining bone health. Recently, new evidence has revealed that vitamin D affects chronic diseases such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin D status and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in an urban Korean population. This study included 8,976 participants (3,587 men and 5,389 women) aged 50 yr and older. Serum 25(OH)D level was measured by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D < 20 ng/mL] was 59.7% and 86.5% in men and women, respectively. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency increased significantly with age in men, but not in women and it decreased from April to July, more prominently in men than in women. These results suggest that sun exposure, intake of vitamin D supplement, and regular physical activities is recommended in an urban Koreans, especially in women.

Keyword

Vitamin D; Deficiency; Prevalence

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aging
Bone and Bones/metabolism
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Vitamin D/*blood
Vitamin D Deficiency/blood/*epidemiology
Vitamin D

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D < 20 ng/mL) by age groups.

• 

  Fig. 2 The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D < 20 ng/mL) according to the month of blood collection.

Reference

1. Pilz S, Tomaschitz A, Ritz E, Pieber TR. Vitamin D status and arterial hypertension: a systematic review. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2009; 6:621–630.

2. Carnevale V, Modoni S, Pileri M, Di Giorgio A, Chiodini I, Minisola S, Vieth R, Scillitani A. Longitudinal evaluation of vitamin D status in healthy subjects from southern Italy: seasonal and gender differences. Osteoporos Int. 2001; 12:1026–1030.

3. Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2007; 357:266–281.

4. Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 80:1678S–1688S.

5. Lips P. Vitamin D status and nutrition in Europe and Asia. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007; 103:620–625.

6. Lips P, Hosking D, Lippuner K, Norquist JM, Wehren L, Maalouf G, Ragi-Eis S, Chandler J. The prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy amongst women with osteoporosis: an international epidemiological investigation. J Intern Med. 2006; 260:245–254.

7. Brot C, Vestergaard P, Kolthoff N, Gram J, Hermann AP, Sørensen OH. Vitamin D status and its adequacy in healthy Danish perimenopausal women: relationships to dietary intake, sun exposure and serum parathyroid hormone. Br J Nutr. 2001; 86:S97–S103.

8. Choi EY. 25(OH)D status and demographic and lifestyle determinants of 25(OH)D among Korean adults. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2012; 21:526–535.

9. Kweon SS, Shin MH, Jeong SK, Nam HS, Lee YH, Park KS, Ryu SY, Choi SW, Kim BH, Rhee JA, et al. Cohort profile: the Namwon Study and the Dong-gu Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2013; doi: 10.1093/ije/dys244.

10. Levey AS, Bosch JP, Lewis JB, Greene T, Rogers N, Roth D. A more accurate method to estimate glomerular filtration rate from serum creatinine: a new prediction equation: Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study Group. Ann Intern Med. 1999; 130:461–470.

11. Hwang YC, Ahn HY, Jeong IK, Ahn KJ, Chung HY. Optimal serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D for bone health in older Korean adults. Calcif Tissue Int. 2013; 92:68–74.

12. Lim S, Shin H, Kim MJ, Ahn HY, Kang SM, Yoon JW, Choi SH, Kim KW, Song JH, Choi SI, et al. Vitamin D inadequacy is associated with significant coronary artery stenosis in a community-based elderly cohort: the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012; 97:169–178.

13. Mithal A, Wahl DA, Bonjour JP, Burckhardt P, Dawson-Hughes B, Eisman JA, El-Hajj Fuleihan G, Josse RG, Lips P, Morales-Torres J. Global vitamin D status and determinants of hypovitaminosis D. Osteoporos Int. 2009; 20:1807–1820.

14. Kung AW, Lee KK. Knowledge of vitamin D and perceptions and attitudes toward sunlight among Chinese middle-aged and elderly women: a population survey in Hong Kong. BMC Public Health. 2006; 6:226.

15. Scragg R, Camargo CA Jr. Frequency of leisure-time physical activity and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in the US population: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am J Epidemiol. 2008; 168:577–586.

16. Van Dam RM, Snijder MB, Dekker JM, Stehouwer CD, Bouter LM, Heine RJ, Lips P. Potentially modifiable determinants of vitamin D status in an older population in the Netherlands: the Hoorn Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007; 85:755–761.

17. MacLaughlin J, Holick MF. Aging decreases the capacity of human skin to produce vitamin D3. J Clin Invest. 1985; 76:1536–1538.

18. Kim G, Oh KW, Jang EH, Kim MK, Lim DJ, Kwon HS, Baek KH, Yoon KH, Lee WC, Cha BY, et al. Relationship between vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, and bone mineral density in elderly Koreans. J Korean Med Sci. 2012; 27:636–643.

19. Webb AR, Kline L, Holick MF. Influence of season and latitude on the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3: exposure to winter sunlight in Boston and Edmonton will not promote vitamin D3 synthesis in human skin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988; 67:373–378.

20. Kull M Jr, Kallikorm R, Tamm A, Lember M. Seasonal variance of 25-(OH) vitamin D in the general population of Estonia, a Northern European country. BMC Public Health. 2009; 9:22.