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Vitamin D level changes linked to modifiable lifestyle factors
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Over time, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels remained relatively stable among black and white adults in the United States, but changes that did occur in these levels were related to certain modifiable lifestyle factors, according to study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS, FACC, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and colleagues evaluated data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study on black and white adults to determine longitudinal changes in 25-(OH)D levels. At visit two (1990-1992), there were 9,890 whites and 3,222 black participants; at visit three (1993-1994), there were 888 whites and 876 black participants; at the brain visit (2004-2006), there were 472 blacks.
Twenty-three percent of white participants were vitamin D deficient (< 50 nmol/L) at visit two compared with 62% of black participants. At visit three, 25% of white participants and 70% of black participants were vitamin D deficient. Forty-seven percent of the black participants were vitamin D deficient at the brain visit.
Male sex, use of vitamin D supplements, greater physical activity and greater HDL levels were associated with increasing 25-(OH)D measures among all participants. Among white participants, decreasing 25-(OH)D levels were associated with increasing age, greater BMI, higher education, current smoking and diabetes. Decreasing 25-(OH)D levels were associated with higher education, current drinking and hypertension among black participants.
Between visits two and three, lower odds of becoming vitamin D deficient were associated with male sex and greater physical activity among all participants (P < .05). College education was associated with greater odds of becoming deficient (P < .05).
“This may be explained by differences in the types of jobs held among more highly educated individuals, who are more likely to have office jobs with limited sunlight exposure, compared to the jobs held by those with less than high school education, who are more likely to have manual and outdoor jobs with greater levels of sunlight exposure,” the researchers wrote. – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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