Global Vitamin D Map Launched

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Global vitamin D map launched

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An interactive global map of vitamin D status was recently launched by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), which presents a snapshot of vitamin D levels worldwide.

The map and accompanying publication confirm that vitamin D insufficiency is a major public health issue in both the developing and industrialised world, with more than one third of all the populations studied, showing insufficient levels of vitamin D.

With Thailand expecting its population of elderly (those aged 60 years and above) to make up 30 per cent of the population by 2050, optimal vitamin D levels become a particularly urgent public health issue.

Specific population groups, such as females, including women of child-bearing age, and the elderly, are especially at risk. The same population groups in Thailand are not exempt - a sample group of 446 females from the age of 60 to 97 displayed suboptimal levels.

Key findings include:

- Thailand is one of the few countries in Asia with relatively good data on levels of vitamin D in the general population

- Overall, insufficient vitamin D levels were detected in more than one third of the study population

- Vitamin D insufficiency affects both the developing world and industrialised world

- The main source of vitamin D is sunlight, but even in sunny countries, vitamin D levels are generally low and below recommended levels (taking India as example: a sunny country; yet, with low vitamin D status)

- Rates of vitamin D insufficiency are higher amongst women than men

- It is estimated that 50 - 70 per cent of the European adult population have insufficient levels of vitamin D

- In US adults, vitamin D insufficiency estimates range from 20% (non-Hispanic whites) - 70 per cent (non-Hispanic blacks)

- Older people are especially at risk for vitamin D insufficiency, including older women who are a risk group for osteoporosis and those living indoors in institutionalised care.

Osteoporosis is a serious chronic disease which affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Vitamin D improves bone mineral density, which lowers risk of fracture, whilst also improving muscle strength, balance, and leg function which decreases the risk of falling and sustaining a fracture in the first place. As a consequence, vitamin D insufficiency has been linked to a higher risk of osteoporotic fractures.

Studies show that adequate vitamin D can reduce the risk of falls and fractures by around 30 per cent. In Germany, research indicated that regular vitamin D supplements can help achieve healthcare cost savings of between Euro 585-778 million in one country alone.

"IOF urges people at risk of osteoporosis and generally all seniors aged 60 years and older to ensure optimal levels of vitamin D. In these high risk groups IOF recommends 800-1000 IU/day supplementation for fall and fracture prevention. With the launch of these maps, we are calling on health professionals to be aware of the status of vitamin D insufficiency within their own country and urge them to take simple and inexpensive steps to correct it. This will ultimately improve, and even save, lives," said Judy Stenmark, CEO of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Prof. Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, DrPH, Director Centre on Aging and Mobility, University of Zurich added, "The reality is that natural production of vitamin D through sunlight decreases with age, and it is very difficult to achieve sufficient vitamin D through diet alone, especially in the senior population. The good news is that vitamin D supplementation offers an effective, inexpensive, and safe public health strategy that can make a significant difference to people's health and quality of life, by reducing 30 per cent of falls and hip fracture."

The map will support the fight against vitamin D deficiency. The map has also created a very clear picture as to where the vitamin D insufficiency knowledge gaps exist and where further research is required.

DSM joins IOF in calling on healthcare policymakers to raise awareness of vitamin D insufficiency and to take action to ensure intake of recommended vitamin D levels, including through safe and effective measures such as food fortification, access to proper supplements and better consumer education.

About the map - drawing on scientific studies from across the world, the maps colour code levels of vitamin D status based on national scientific data, with green indicating an optimal/desirable vitamin D status, and yellow as inadequate or suboptimal. Orange highlights vitamin D blood levels below 50nmol/l which are considered insufficient, and red indicates severe vitamin D deficiency (below25nmol/l) based on a sliding scale. The maps will be updated annually and provide researchers, medical practitioners and policymakers with an invaluable resource in the fight against vitamin D deficiency.

The maps can be found on the website of the International Osteoporosis Foundation at http://www.iofbonehealth.org

-- The Nation 2012-09-25

[belg]

vitamine D is for free with the sun... but with thailand and their "i have to be white as a ghost to appear beautifull" bullsniff

[alant]

cover up and suffer, It is a shame if Thais are not manufacturing vitamin D.

[SOTIRIOS]

...what form of Vitamin D....some are useless...even harmful....D3 is the preferred form....

[davejones]

vitamine D is for free with the sun... but with thailand and their "i have to be white as a ghost to appear beautifull" bullsniff

Only partly true. In the last 20-30 years there has been an epidemic of people with low vitamin d. Many medical experts have noticed this but no-one knows what's causing it. Some theories are that environmental pollution or junk food diets are somehow blocking vitamin d synthesis.

It's a fact that many lifeguards who spend hours in the sun every day have been found to be low in vitamin d. Staying out of the sun doesn't help, but it's not the whole story. So don't go thinking that the sun is all you need. Many Thai people have low vitamin d, even if hey spend all day in the sun.

I suggest people get tested and find out what their levels actually are, instead of assuming they're ok because they spend lots of time in the sun. Testing is the only way to find out. Low vitamin d can have very serious health implications. It's not just osteoporosis, but also heart disease. Also, healthy bones are particularly important for health as we get older, so many on here would benefit from getting tested.

So you have a choice - get tested and find out your true status, or bury your head in the sand and just come on here and mock other people.

I'd be interested to know what people's test results are.

I got test after being i Thailand for a year (plenty of time in the sun) and my levels were quite low. Now back up to the optimal range with supplementation. So it's good to get tested.

For anyone who's interested, this book is worth a read --> Power of Vitamin D by Sarfraz Zaidi.

[SICHONSTEVE]

vitamine D is for free with the sun... but with thailand and their "i have to be white as a ghost to appear beautifull" bullsniff

Absolutely correct!!! but, trying to convince a Thai that the sun on their skin is good for them is like saying "Thai officials are uncorruptable".

Putting a Thai lady on a sunbed for 30 minutes is like subjecting them to water-boarding!!!

[brianP]

Vitamin D and calcium work together in the absorption process. Not enough of both and the body cannibalizes itself, leaving spongy and hollowed porous bones that break easy. Takes years, but is devastating. BONE UP!! The older you are, the less absorption.

[khunken]

I hope this message gets through to Chinese-Thai ladies who always insist on an umbrella even when it is cloudy. Sunglasses are mandatory for walking the streets if one is to avoid a poke in the eye.

[laislica]

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone. A hormone is a substance that our body produces. After its synthesis, a hormone is released into the blood circulation. Then it reaches many distant organs and exerts its medical effects.

Vitamin D-a Hormone

Vitamin D is produced in the skin from 7-dehydrocholesterol (pro-vitamin D3) which is derived from cholesterol. Here is evidence that cholesterol is not all bad, contrary to what most people think these days. The fact is that cholesterol is a precursor for most hormones in your body.

Type B Ultraviolet rays (UVB) from the sun act on pro-vitamin D3 and convert it into pre-vitamin D3, which is then converted into vitamin D3. Medically speaking, we call it cholecalciferol. Vitamin D3 then leaves the skin and gets into the blood stream where it is carried on a special protein called a vitamin D-binding protein.

Through blood circulation, vitamin D3 reaches various organs in the body. In the liver, vitamin D3 undergoes a slight change in its chemical structure. At that point, it is called 25, hydroxy cholecalciferol or 25 (OH) Vitamin D3 (or calcidiol). It is then carried through the blood stream to the kidneys where it goes through another change in its chemical structure. At that point, it is called 1,25 dihydroxy cholecalciferol or 1,25 (OH)₂ vitamin D3 (or calcitriol) . This is the active form of vitamin D. It gets in the blood stream and goes to various parts of the body and exerts its actions. That is why vitamin D is really a hormone.

With the discovery that vitamin D is a hormone, scientists found the main effect of vitamin D was on calcium and phosphorus absorption from the intestines.

It was also realized that people with kidney failure cannot convert 25 (OH) vitamin D into 1,25 (OH)₂ vitamin D. Therefore, people with chronic kidney failure on dialysis were placed on a synthetic supplements of 1,25 (OH)₂ vitamin D which is also called calcitriol. Drug companies saw an opportunity and started manufacturing calcitriol (brand name Rocaltrol). Soon, it became a standard of medical practice to prescribe calcitriol to every patient on chronic kidney dialysis. For most physicians, this is where their knowledge of vitamin D ends.

In the last couple of decades, researchers discovered that vitamin D is not only involved in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestines, but also plays an important role in the normal functioning of every system in the body

[moe666]

Try sub block as the culprit of people in the sun without proper levels. Also the optimu time for produceing Vit-D is 10am to 1pm for at least 20 min. The great cancer scare is also to blame for low vit-d levels

[laislica]

Try sub block as the culprit of people in the sun without proper levels. Also the optimu time for produceing Vit-D is 10am to 1pm for at least 20 min. The great cancer scare is also to blame for low vit-d levels

Spot on, the sun needs to be higher than 50 degrees before it is strong enough to make the Vitamin D. In many countries this does not happen in the winter and a good D3 supplement is advised.