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Sunlight and dietary contributions to the seasonal vitamin D status of cohorts of healthy postmenopausal women living at northerly latitudes: a major cause for concern?

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An Erratum to this article was published on 26 January 2011

Abstract

Summary

We assessed sunlight and dietary contributions to vitamin D status in British postmenopausal women. Our true longitudinal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) measurements varied seasonally, being lower in the north compared to the south and lower in Asian women. Sunlight exposure in summer and spring provided 80% total annual intake of vitamin D.

Introduction

Vitamin D deficiency is highlighted as a potential problem for countries at high latitude, but there are few true longitudinal, seasonal data to allow regional comparisons. We aimed to directly compare seasonal variation in vitamin D status (25(OH)D) in postmenopausal women at two northerly latitudes and to assess the relative contributions of sunlight exposure and diet.

Methods

Vitamin D status was assessed in 518 postmenopausal women (age 55–70 years) in a two-centre cohort study with serum collected at fixed three-monthly intervals from summer 2006 for immunoassay measurement of 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone. At 57° N (Aberdeen, Scotland, UK), there were 338 Caucasian women; at 51° N (Surrey, South of England, UK), there were 144 Caucasian women and 35 Asian women. UVB exposure (polysulphone film badges) and dietary vitamin D intakes (food diaries) were also estimated.

Results

Caucasian women had lower 25(OH)D (p < 0.001) at 57° N compared to 51° N. Median (interquartile range) in nanomoles per litre for summer (June–August) at 57° N was 43.0 (20.9) and at 51° N was 62.5 (26.6) and for winter (December–February) at 57° N was 28.3 (18.9) and at 51° N was 39.9 (24.0). For Asian women at 51° N, median 25(OH)D was 24.0 (15.8) nmol/L in summer and 16.9 (15.9) nmol/L in winter. Median dietary vitamin D intakes were 80–100 IU for Caucasians and 50–65 IU for the Asian women. Sunlight was the main contributor to 25(OH)D with spring and summer providing >80% total annual intake.

Conclusions

These longitudinal data show significant regional and ethnic differences in UVB exposure and vitamin D status for postmenopausal women at northerly latitudes. The numbers of women who are vitamin D deficient is a major concern and public health problem.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank John Leiper and Sharon Gordon who helped with the volunteers’ visits; Antonia Hardcastle and Kim Giles for their help with data entry and checking; Catherine Paterson and Katie Macdonald for entering sunlight diaries; Anna Robinson, Liverpool for analysis of 25(OH)D and Fiona Grant who helped with recruitment. The authors are particularly grateful to Brian Diffey for the advice on sunlight exposure estimation (badges and sunlight diaries). Finally, we wish to thank all the women who took part and without whose commitment this study would not have been possible. SL-N is grateful to the Woking Asian Women’s Association (WAWA); the Khidmat Group, Woking; the Islamic Resource Centre (IRC) Kingston; The Guildford Asian Society and the Thornton Heath Asian Society.

Conflicts of interest

WDF has patents pending between IDS and the University of Liverpool. No disclosures for other authors. This work was funded by the UK Food Standards Agency. Any views expressed are the authors’ own.

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Correspondence to H. M. Macdonald.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00198-011-1548-7

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Macdonald, H.M., Mavroeidi, A., Fraser, W.D. et al. Sunlight and dietary contributions to the seasonal vitamin D status of cohorts of healthy postmenopausal women living at northerly latitudes: a major cause for concern?. Osteoporos Int 22, 2461–2472 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-010-1467-z

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