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Wintertime vitamin D insufficiency is common in young Canadian women, and their vitamin D intake does not prevent it

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 55, pages 1091–1097 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: We asked whether women self-reporting the recommended consumption of vitamin D from milk and multivitamins would be less likely to have low wintertime 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enlisted at least 42 young women each month (age 18–35 y, 796 women total) through one year. We measured serum 25(OH)D and administered a lifestyle and diet questionnaire.

Results: Over the whole year, prevalence of low 25(OH)D (<40 nmol/l) was higher in non-white, non-black subjects (25.6% of 82 women) than in the white women (14.8% of 702 white women, P<0.05). Of the 435 women tested during the winter half of the year (November–April), prevalence of low 25(OH)D was not affected by vitamin D intake: low 25(OH)D occurred in 21% of the 146 consuming no vitamin D, in 26% of the 140 reporting some vitamin D intake, up to 5 µg/day (median, 2.5 µg/day), and in 20% of the 149 women reporting vitamin D consumption over 5 µg/day (median, 10 µg/day).

Interpretation: The self-reported vitamin D intake from milk and/or multivitamins does not relate to prevention of low vitamin D nutritional status of young women in winter. Recommended vitamin D intakes are too small to prevent insufficiency. Vitamin D nutrition can only be assessed by measuring serum 25(OH)D concentration.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001) 55, 1091–1097

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Acknowledgements

Financial support was provided partly by the Dairy Farmers of Canada, the Physicians Services Incorporated Foundation, and the Centrum Foundation of Canada. Dr Hawker is a Medical Research Council of Canada scholar. We thank Linda Fielding, Yvonne Garcia and Shirley Siu for their work.

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Author notes

  1. R Vieth: Guarantor: R Vieth.

  2. R Vieth, DE Cole, GA Hawker, HM Trang and LA Rubin: Contributors: RV conceived this nutritional component to the larger study initiated by GAH and LAR, carried out statistical analysis, and wrote the manuscript. GAH and LAR initiated the survey of young women, supervised its completion, assembled the data, and contributed to the intellectual development of the work presented here. DEC supervised assembly of the data, ensured appropriate handling and retrieval of sample material, and joined in the intellectual development of the present manuscript. HMT ensured appropriate handling and retrieval of sample material, carried out vitamin D assays, and joined in the intellectual development of the present manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    R Vieth

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, and Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    R Vieth, DE Cole & HM Trang

  3. The Toronto Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    DE Cole

  4. Sunnybrook and Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    GA Hawker

  5. St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    LA Rubin

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  1. R Vieth
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  2. DE Cole
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Correspondence to R Vieth.

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Vieth, R., Cole, D., Hawker, G. et al. Wintertime vitamin D insufficiency is common in young Canadian women, and their vitamin D intake does not prevent it. Eur J Clin Nutr 55, 1091–1097 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601275

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