Here's more news of interest (Vit D receptor is related to Vit A receptor):
Wednesday March 18 5:35 PM EST
Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A majority of hospital patients have moderate or severe vitamin D deficiency, a study indicates. The
results suggest that vitamin D deficiency is also common in the general population.
Dr. Melissa K. Thomas, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues detected
vitamin D deficiency in 57% of 290 consecutive patients who were admitted to general hospital wards. The deficiency was
moderate in 34% of the subjects and severe in 22%, according to the report in the March 19th issue of The New England
Journal of Medicine.
Vitamin D is essential to healthy teeth and bones and it helps the body absorb and use calcium. Sun exposure stimulates vitamin
D production in the body, though fortified milk and other dairy products are the main source of the vitamin in food. Vitamin D
deficiency can increase the risk of broken bones, particularly in the elderly.
In a subset of 77 patients who had no known risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, the research team found that 42% were
vitamin D-deficient.
Those patients were younger and without chronic illnesses, Thomas told Reuters. "The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency
tells us that vitamin D deficiency is probably a substantial problem in the general population."
Thomas explained that the Institute of Medicine now recommends higher intake of vitamin D than the previous recommended
daily allowance. "We analyzed our data with respect to the new guidelines," she said in an interview, "and 37% of the patients
who met the guidelines were still vitamin D-deficient."
"Because of the potential adverse effects of vitamin D deficiency on the skeleton and other organ systems," Thomas's group
concludes, "widespread screening for vitamin D deficiency or routine vitamin D supplementation should be considered."
"The results support the conclusions that many people do not take the recommended amount (of vitamin D), however defined,
and that this amount is too low anyway," according to an accompanying editorial by Dr. Robert D. Utiger, a deputy editor of
the journal. "On the basis of what we know about vitamin D, sick adults, older adults, and perhaps all adults probably need
800 to 1000 IU (international units) daily, substantially more than the newly established levels of adequate intake," he wrote.
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine (1998;338:777-783, 828-829) |
