Do blacks have a 5 year life penalty due to low vitamin D

Black men live 6 fewer years than White men

As much as 5 of the 6 years of difference could be due to vitamin D deficiency in blacks

see attached 2007 JAMA article for details

Heart Disease 1.3 years

Homicide 1.0 years (some of which is due to depression)

HIV 0.6 years

Perinatal death 0.5 years

Stroke 0.4 years

Unintentional injuries 0.4 years (drugs, autos, falls)

Lung cancer 0.3 years

Other cancer 0.3 years

Diabetes 0.3 years

Prostate cancer 0.3 years (vs 0.2 years for breast cancer)

Septicemia 0.2 years (bacteria in the blood)

Hypertension 0.2 years

Nephritis 0.2 years (Kidney Inflammation)

Suicide -0.1 years

Black men might even live longer than White men

if just Blacks, and not whites, increased their vitamin D enough

CLICK HERE to see the page with the following charts - Grant Nov 2010

See also VitaminDWiki

• US Life Expectancy vs race at age 65

• Overview - Dark Skin and vitamin D

• Items in category Dark Skin and vitamin D items

• No – 10 minutes per day of sun-UVB is NOT enough

• Vitamin D Council vs FDA concerning vitamin D deficiency in blacks and others - June 2011

• Blacks not taking mulitvitamins were 5X more likely to be vitamin D deficient – June 2011

• Lack of vitamin D closely associated with black health disparities – Nov 2010 - Great charts

• Differences in black and non-black mortality and vitamin D – Oct 2012