Vitamin D: a critical and essential micronutrient for human health

Abstract

Vitamin D is a micronutrient that is needed for optimal health throughout the whole life. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be either synthesized in the human skin upon exposure to the UV light of the sun, or it is obtained from the diet. If the photoconversion in the skin due to reduced sun exposure (e.g., in wintertime) is insufficient, intake of adequate vitamin D from the diet is essential to health. Severe vitamin D deficiency can lead to a multitude of avoidable illnesses; among them are well-known bone diseases like osteoporosis, a number of autoimmune diseases, many different cancers, and some cardiovascular diseases like hypertension are being discussed. Vitamin D is found naturally in only very few foods. Foods containing vitamin D include some fatty fish, fish liver oils, and eggs from hens that have been fed vitamin D and some fortified foods in countries with respective regulations. Based on geographic location or food availability adequate vitamin D intake might not be sufficient on a global scale. The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) has collected the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D plasma levels in populations of different countries using published data and developed a global vitamin D map. This map illustrates the parts of the world, where vitamin D did not reach adequate 25-hydroxyvitamin D plasma levels: 6.7% of the papers report 25-hydroxyvitamin D plasma levels below 25 nmol/L, which indicates vitamin D deficiency, 37.3% are below 50 nmol/Land only 11.9% found 25-hydroxyvitamin D plasma levels above 75 nmol/L target as suggested by vitamin D experts. The vitamin D map is adding further evidence to the vitamin D insufficiency pandemic debate, which is also an issue in the developed world. Besides malnutrition, a condition where the diet does not match to provide the adequate levels of nutrients including micronutrients for growth and maintenance, we obviously have a situation where enough nutrients were consumed, but lacked to reach sufficient vitamin D micronutrient levels. The latter situation is known as hidden hunger. The inadequate vitamin D status impacts on health care costs, which in turn could result in significant savings, if corrected. Since little is known about the effects on the molecular level that accompany the pandemic like epigenetic imprinting, the insufficiency-triggered gene regulations or the genetic background influence on the body to maintain metabolic resilience, future research will be needed. The nutrition community is highly interested in the molecular mechanism that underlies the vitamin D insufficiency caused effect. In recent years, novel large scale technologies have become available that allow the simultaneous acquisition of transcriptome, epigenome, proteome, or metabolome data in cells of organs. These important methods are now used for nutritional approaches summarized in emerging scientific fields of nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics, or nutriepigenetics. It is believed that with the help of these novel concepts further understanding can be generated to develop f...

Estado de la 25-hidroxivitamina D sérica en niños sanos menores de 10 años del área metropolitana de Barranquilla

“…27,28 En general, habrá que considerar que la insuficiencia de vitamina D corresponde a valores séricos inferiores a 30 ng/ml y que la deficiencia a valores inferiores a 20 ng/ml son los criterios más aceptados a nivel mundial, 13 aunque no necesariamente son considerados los mejores, ya que algunos autores asocian niveles séricos más altos de esta vitamina con efectos protectores contra enfermedades como el cáncer. 2,13 Realizar estudios como el aquí presentado sobre los niveles de vitamina D de la población saludable en un determinado entorno resulta de gran importancia como referencia para futuros estudios de grupos poblacionales comparables pero en otras condiciones de salud.…”

Pathogenesis and diagnostic criteria for rickets and osteomalacia—proposal by an expert panel supported by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and the Japan Endocrine Society

“…Therefore, patients with low 25(OH)D levels are theoretically considered to have vitamin D deficient rickets or osteomalacia. However, vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency is quite common even in the general population [19], and it is possible that low 25(OH)D levels can be observed in patients with rickets or osteomalacia from other causes. Investigation of 25(OH)D levels in patients with vitamin D deficient rickets and XLH indicated that there was overlap of serum 25(OH)D levels in these patients.…”

Vitamin D and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

“…Further studies are needed to investigate these hypotheses and any potential consequences for clinical practice. Most importantly, we are all awaiting the randomized intervention of vitamin D supplementation to be published in the near future ( 8,18 These randomized trials will provide us with definitive answers as to whether vitamin D supplementation will reduce cardiovascular disease or not and whether vitamin D is causally related to cardiovascular disease.…”