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Vitamin D Insufficiency in Greenlanders on a Westernized Fare: Ethnic Differences in Calcitropic Hormones Between Greenlanders and Danes

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Abstract

We studied the influence of age, gender, latitude, season, diet and ethnicity on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25 OHD, PTH, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, vitamin D-binding protein, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin levels in 46 Greenlanders living in Nuuk (64°N) on a traditional fare (group A), 45 Greenlanders living in Nuuk on a westernized fare (group B), 54 Greenlanders (group C), and 43 Danes (Group D) living in Denmark (55°N) on a westernized fare. Blood specimens were drawn both summer and winter. Vitamin D insufficiency (plasma 25 OHD <40 nmol/l) was common in all four study groups during summer (23–74%) and winter (42–81%). Compared to groups A and D, vitamin D insufficiency was significantly more frequent in groups B and C. In all groups, summer levels of 25 OHD were above winter levels. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant effect of ethnicity. Compared to Danes, Greenlanders had higher 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels, but lower 25 OHD and PTH levels despite relatively low plasma calcium concentrations. In addition to ethnicity, 25(OH)D levels were influenced by age, season (summer > winter), and diet (a traditional Inuit diet>westernized diet). Ethnical differences exist between Greenlanders and Danes. Our results suggest that Greenlanders may have an inherent lower “set-point” for calcium-regulated PTH release or an enhanced renal 1,25(OH)2D production. In addition to ethnicity, age, season, and diet were important determinants of vitamin D status. Changes from a traditional to a westernized fare are associated with a reduced vitamin D status in Greenlanders. Vitamin D supplementation should be considered.

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Acknowledgements

We thank secretary Inge Lise Walhovd, chief laboratory technician Lisbeth Mikkelsen and technicians Rikke Andersen, Elsebeth Fibiger, Dorthe Jensen, Jane Hagelskjaer Knudsen, Gitte Paulsen, Kirsten Tønder, Ellinor Hansen, Donna Lund, Lisbeth Flyvbjerg, and Charlotte Beck Gylling, Holstebro and Aarhus, and chief laboratory technician Inger Lise Kleist, Nuuk, for technical assistance. We thank Efraim Hans Olsen, Gunnar Pallisgaard, and Eivind Thorling for inspiring discussions and advice. The study was supported by grants from The Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland, Jyllands Postens Foundation, the Ellen Hansen Foundation, Eli Lilly’s Foundation for Research in Osteoporosis, Centre for Clinical Pharmacology at The University of Aarhus, Department of Experimental Clinical Research at The University of Aarhus, The Government of Greenland, and Aarhus University, Denmark.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Endocrinology and Metabolism C, Aarhus Amtssygehus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    L. Rejnmark & L. Mosekilde

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    L. Rejnmark, J. C. Hansen, C. Siggaard, H. Skjoldborg, T. B. Sørensen, E. B. Pedersen & L. Mosekilde

  3. Dept of Medicine, Queen Ingrids Hospital, Nuuk, Greenland

    M. E. Jørgensen & M. B. Pedersen

  4. Steno Diabetes Centre, Gentofte, Denmark

    M. E. Jørgensen

  5. Center for Arctic Environmental Medicine, Dept of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    J. C. Hansen

  6. Dept of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus Amtssygehus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    L. Heickendorff

  7. Dept of Clinical Biochemistry, AKH, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    A. L. Lauridsen

  8. Center for Primary Health Care, Nuuk, Greenland

    G. Mulvad

  9. Dept of Medicine, Hospital of Holstebro, Holstebro, Denmark

    E. B. Pedersen

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  1. L. Rejnmark
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  2. M. E. Jørgensen
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  6. A. L. Lauridsen
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  7. G. Mulvad
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  10. T. B. Sørensen
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  11. E. B. Pedersen
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  12. L. Mosekilde
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Correspondence to L. Rejnmark.

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Rejnmark, L., Jørgensen, M., Pedersen, M. et al. Vitamin D Insufficiency in Greenlanders on a Westernized Fare: Ethnic Differences in Calcitropic Hormones Between Greenlanders and Danes . Calcif Tissue Int 74, 255–263 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-003-0110-9

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