Vitamin D Status in Central Europe

Abstract

Little published information is available regarding epidemiological data on vitamin D status in the large geographical region of Central Europe (CE). We searched the journal literature with regard to 25(OH)D concentrations among community-dwelling or healthy people living in CE. 25(OH)D concentrations varied by age, season, study sample size, and methodological approach [i.e., 25(OH)D assay used]. Concentrations of 25(OH)D in CE appeared lower than 30 ng/mL, and the magnitude of hypovitaminosis D was similar to that reported in Western Europe. While most of the studies reviewed were cross-sectional studies, a longitudinal study was also included to obtain information on seasonal variability. The longitudinal study reported wintertime 25(OH)D values close to 21–23 ng/mL for all studied age groups, with a significant increase of 25(OH)D in August reaching 42 ng/mL for those aged 0–9 years, but only 21 ng/mL for the elderly aged 80–89 years. The decrease in 25(OH)D with respect to age was attributed to decreased time spent in the sun and decreased vitamin D production efficiency. Based on the literature review on vitamin D status in the CE populations, it can be concluded that 25(OH)vitamin D levels are on average below the 30 ng/mL level.

Associated Factors and Liver Disease Severity for Decreased Bone Mineral Density in HIV Mono- and HIV/HCV Co-infected Patients

“…Our results reflect those reported in an Italian study, which found that median vitamin D serum levels >25 ng/ ml were similar in the HIV mono-infected, HIV/HCV co-infected and healthy controls [29]. Moreover, in a recent, large study on a general healthy population in Central Europe, Pludowski et al [30] reported an average vitamin D concentration of >30 ng/ml. However, since the Hormone Foundation's Patient Guide to Vitamin D Deficiency suggests that patients with chronic (long-term) liver disease are at high risk of deficiency [31], further randomized controlled trials are warranted to determine what level of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency places an individual at risk for cirrhosis evolution.…”

Seasonal effect of vitamin D deficiency in patients with acute myocardial infarction

“…In our study we found that the median serum 25(OH)D concentration in AMI patients was 7.1 (2.3-13.3) ng/mL and this value was below the recommended reference range for healthy population (Table 2) [10]. Detailed analysis of 25(OH)D levels revealed that 53 (89.8%) patients had vitamin D below 20 ng/mL, and six (10.2%) patients had suboptimal 25(OH)D levels (between 20 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL).…”

“…Our results are taken in relation to the guidelines prepared for the population of Central Europe. According to the recommendations of prophylaxis of vitamin D deficiency in Poland, the concentration of vitamin D < 20 ng/mL has been treated as VDD, and levels between 20 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL are characterised as suboptimal, with insufficient vitamin D supply to the body [10,11]. Additionally, we can confirm that the distribution of VDD in cardiovascular patients is in concordance with the previous investigation by Goleniewska et al [4]; nevertheless, we did not check the association between the severity of coronary lesions and vitamin D levels.…”

“…In humans, cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D is responsible for > 90% of 25(OH)D levels in the serum, and some seasonal variations in circulating vitamin D levels have been observed, especially for Northern and Central European populations [8][9][10][11]. However, it is still not well recognised if there is any relationship between seasonal variation of 25(OH)D levels and the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) [4].…”

Seasonal variations in vitamin D levels in HIV-infected patients

“…In a general population, daily sunlight exposure influences vitamin D serum concentrations, leading to strong seasonal intra-and inter-individual variability [3,4]. It is not self-evident, though, that these results can be transferred to HIV-infected subjects: for patients on anticonvulsant drugs (which are considered to interfere similarly to ART [1]) and patients with hyperparathyroidism (which was found to occur secondary to ART with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate [5,6]) a loss of seasonality has been described [7,8].…”