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Background Vitamin D deficiency is widespread in New Zealand, confers multiple health risks, and may be particularly common among people with psychiatric illness. We studied vitamin D status in an unselected sample of adult psychiatric inpatients in Hamilton (latitude 37.5 S) during late winter. Methods We recruited 102 consenting subjects and measured 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 levels in venous blood using a competitive electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. In addition to descriptive statistics, we used one-sample t-tests to determine the extent to which ethnic and diagnostic subgroups fell below the vitamin D deficiency threshold of 50 nM. Results 75 subjects (74%) had vitamin D levels <50 nM and thus had at least mild deficiency, while 19 (19%) were severely deficient with levels <25 nM. Rates of deficiency were comparable for men and women; only the former showed a correlation of vitamin D levels with age (r = 0.45, p < 0.01). Maori participants constituted half the sample (n = 51) and were more likely to be deficient than their European counterparts (p = 0.04). Vitamin D also varied by diagnosis, with schizophrenia associated with markedly lower levels than mania and depression (p < 0.001). Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in the psychiatric inpatient setting in New Zealand and may be relevant to poor physical health outcomes, notably among Maori and those with schizophrenia. These findings support proposals to provide vitamin D supplementation, particularly during the winter months.

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A prospective study was undertaken of 150 individuals in police custody, seen by a Forensic Medical Examiner (FME) for documentation of alleged assault and associated injuries. Ninety-six per cent consented to participate in the study of whom 86% were male. The mean age was 29.8 years. Most assaults (35%) were said to be unprovoked, 26% of injuries were alleged to have occurred at the time of arrest, 17% as a result of domestic incidents and 8% due to driving incidents. Twenty-nine per cent of examinees were victims of assault, 21% complained of alleged police assault and 20% were police officers injured during arrests. There was no significant difference between the mean ages of victims and assailants, and no significant difference in the proportions of each group under the influence of alcohol. Those individuals alleging police assault were all male, and significantly more likely to be unemployed and single. Victims of assault were significantly more likely to be female. Weapons were used in only 15% of cases. The head was the most common site of injury. Twenty-three per cent of the study population required hospital assessment. The study has characterized the different groups of individuals requiring medical assessment for assault and injury in police custody. The findings in this study population differ from similar studies undertaken in alternative settings.