Vitamin D status in Greenland – dermal and dietary donations

Abstract

BackgroundVitamin D status influences skeletal health, the risk of falls and fractures, and muscle health, and it has been associated with inflammatory, infectious, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders in addition to some cancers. Prevailing intracellular infections such as tuberculosis are speculated to relate to vitamin D status. The vitamin D sources are dietary and dermal, the latter depending on UVB radiation exposure from the sun. Life in the Arctic influences vitamin D status because of dietary peculiarities, the polar night, waning of the ozone layer and maybe ethnic differences between Inuit and non-Inuit.Objective and designData on vitamin D status as estimated by plasma 25OHD in Inuit and non-Inuit in Greenland are reviewed.ResultsDecreasing intake of vitamin D-rich local food items associated with decreasing plasma 25OHD levels and insufficient vitamin D status is seen with low intake of traditional Inuit foods. Plasma 25OHD levels increase markedly during spring and summer in parallel with the high influx of sunlight while plasma 25OHD is not influenced by obesity in Greenland Inuit and no clear-cut association is seen between plasma 25OHD and the risk of tuberculosis.ConclusionThe frequency of vitamin D deficiency in populations in Greenland rises with the dietary transition and diseases related to low vitamin D status should be monitored.

An efficient case finding strategy to diagnose osteoporosis in a developing society with low treatment frequency

“…Also, the vertebral assessment techniques differed, and the rate of 25 % vertebral deformity among the younger patients in our study matched that of the control group in the study by Haramati and colleagues [16]. Latitude associates with the prevalence of osteoporotic fractures and it may be speculated to relate to lower vitamin D levels among populations in the north with an increase in the risk of vertebral fractures [17]. However, a high intake of marine food items from the traditional Inuit diet supplies sufficient vitamin D to populations in Greenland [18,19] and the effect of latitude on vitamin D in Greenland is limited [20].…”

Adequate vitamin D levels in a Swedish population living above latitude 63°N: The 2009 Northern Sweden MONICA study

“…Vitamin D status has been extensively studied in Greenland over the past years and compared to people living in Denmark, both of Inuit and Danish origin ( 23 , 34 – 36 ), and were recently reviewed ( 37 ). Even though Greenlanders may have an enhanced renal production of vitamin D and an effective dermal production even at latitude of 70°N, a decrease in vitamin D levels has been found and explained by the less traditional Inuit diet.…”

The atmospheric role in the Arctic water cycle: A review on processes, past and future changes, and their impacts

“…More direct effects of atmospheric water cycle include effects of changes in cloud conditions on aviation (low clouds and fog are the main problems in the Arctic), atmospheric icing of structures (wind mills [ Makkonen et al , ], towers, and power lines), and on solar shortwave and thermal longwave radiation. A reduced cloud cover results in an increase in solar radiation, which has a strong positive impact on vitamin D status [ Andersen et al , ] and mental health of people [ Grimaldi et al , ] but simultaneously increases the occurrence of skin cancer [ De Fabo and Noonan , ]. On the other hand, in the Arctic and sub‐Arctic the cloud radiative forcing is positive for a large part of the year, so that an increase in cloudiness yields higher near‐surface air temperatures, which reduce mortality [ Kue Young and Mäkinen , ] and improve well‐being and physical performance of people [ Rintamäki , ].…”