Overview Dark skin births and Vitamin D

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Summary

FACT: Avoiding the sun reduces your vitamin D intake
FACT: Can avoid the sun by use of sunscreen, not going outdoors, etc.
FACT: African Americans have very low levels of vitamin D (natural sun screen)
FACT: There is an increased need for vitamin D during pregnancy and breast feeding
– Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency is Common during Pregnancy – Jan 2011

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Statistics for African-American vs white births in the US:

• 2X more likely to be premature
• 2X more likely for infant to die in first year – African-American medical risks has chart
• 4X higher maternal mortality rate
• 1.25X more cesarean delivery
• Suspect statistics worse if
  live far from equator
  have darker skin – Vitamin D blood levels vary with estimated amount of African Ancestry – Sept 2010
  Obese
    Fat captures vitamin D – leaving less in the bloodstream
    Overweight sunbathe less - 2009
  Wear clothing which restricts access to sun (Burka, etc)

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See also VitaminDWiki

• Dark skin pregnancies 2.6 times more likely to have low vitamin D – March 2017
• Premature birth and infant mortality worse if dark skin (low vitamin D) - 2015
• Low birth weight far more likely if African-American (low vitamin D) – 1997, Aug 2018
• Ethnicity and low vitamin D levels during pregnancy – Jan 2016
• 78 percent of pregnant immigrants in Sweden had less than 10 ng low vitamin D – Nov 2013
• Overview Dark Skin and Vitamin D
• Pregnant while black increases chance of death – mothers 3X, infants 2X (low Vitamin D) – Feb 2019
• All items in category Dark Skin and Vitamin D 459 items
• Dark skinned pregnant women far from equator were very vitamin D deficient – Sept 2012
• Pregnant blacks 50 pcnt more likely to be depressed if 3 ng less vitamin D – July 2012
• Very low vitamin D for first pregnancies and those with dark skin – Jan 2011
• Black infants had far lower vitamin D levels which did not vary with season – Jan 2013
• 78 percent of pregnant immigrants in Sweden had less than 10 ng low vitamin D – Nov 2013

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All items in both categories: Dark Skin AND Pregnant

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All items in both categories: Dark Skin AND Hypertension

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Hypertension

• All items in category Hypertension 161 items
• Blacks are 30% more likely to have chronic hypertension (40% vs 30%)
• Hypertension increases risk of preeclampsia 11X
• Hypothesis that lack of vitamin D increases blood pressure in blacks – July 2010
• Meta-analysis found hypertension reduced with vitamin D – Dec 2010

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Chart shows that blacks are almost 4X more likely to have less than 20ng of vitamin D

Left curve = blacks indoors (15 ng) /// Right curve = blacks outdoors (46ng)

CDC study of late 2011 has the following data

Percentage less than 20 nanograms of vitamin D

Less than 12 ng: White 4, Black 41, Mexican 17
Between 12-20 ng White 19, Black 37, Mexican 41
Note: US lowered the vitamin D levels to 20 nanograms in Nov 2010 - many recommend at least 30 nanograms

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On the web

• Vitamin D deficiency among pregnant minority women in Europe Vitamin D Council Aug 2016
  Nice review with references for UK, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden
• Black Women Disproportionately Suffer Complications of Pregnancy and Childbirth. Let’s Talk About It ProPublica Dec 2017, "Black mothers are three to four times more likely to die than white mothers. "
  Maternal Complications: Postpartum Hemorrhage - vitamin D,
  Fibroids - Vitamin D
  Preeclampsia - vitamin D Risk of preeclampsia might be cut in half if take an amount of Vitamin D – meta-analysis Sept 2017
  Uterine Rupture - vitamin D
  Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection,
  Peripartum Cardiomyopathy - Vitamin D
• Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis NYT April 2018
  Long article, Vitamin D not mentioned    Download theNYT PDF from VitaminDWiki
• NYT Oct 15, 2011: Tackling Infant Mortality Rates Among Blacks
  • Black infant mortality is 2X that of whites in the US, and 5X that of whites in PITTSBURGH
  • It is a big mystery. Vitamin D is not mentioned. It has the following graphic

• Maternal mortality - Exceptionally deadly Economist July 2015
  Increase death rate suspected due to obesity, lack of access to medical care, higher rates of unexpected pregnancies
  Yet they note that the descrepancy of maternal death rates was 2X 100 years ago and is now 4X
  No mention of decrease in Vitamin D

• Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System CDC
  2011-2014 pregnancy-related mortalities per 100,000 live births
  3X higher for blacks (12.4 deaths for whites, 40.0 deaths for blacks)

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