Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d levels among Boston trainee doctors in winter.
Nutrients. 2012 Mar;4(3):197-207. Epub 2012 Mar 16.
Growdon AS, Camargo CA Jr, Clark S, Hannon M, Mansbach JM.
Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood AvCe, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Email: Megan.Hannon@children’s.harvard.edu (M.H.); Jonathan.Mansbach@children’s.harvard.edu (J.M.M.).
As indoor workers, trainee doctors may be at risk for inadequate vitamin D.
All trainee doctors (residents) in a Boston pediatric training program (residency) were invited to complete a survey, and undergo testing for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], PTH, and calcium during a 3-week period in March 2010.
We examined the association between resident characteristics and serum 25(OH)D using Chi2 and Kruskal-Wallis test and multivariable linear and logistic regression. Of the 119 residents, 102 (86%) participated.
Although the mean serum 25(OH)D level was 67 nmol/L (±26), 25 (25%) had a level <50 nmol/L and 3 (3%) residents had levels <25 nmol/L.
In the multivariable model, factors associated with 25(OH)D levels were: female sex (ß 12.7, 95% CI 3.6, 21.7), white race (ß 21.7, 95% CI 11.7, 31.7), travel to more equatorial latitudes during the past 3 months (ß 6.3, 95% CI 2.0, 10.5) and higher daily intake of vitamin D (ß 1.1, 95% CI 0.04, 2.1).
Although one in four residents in our study had a serum 25(OH)D <50 nmol/L,
all of them would have been missed using current Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) screening guidelines.
The use of traditional risk factors appears insufficient to identify low vitamin D in indoor workers at northern latitudes.
PMID: 22666546