UK vitamin D levels vs race and obesity (all less than 30 ng) – April 2024

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Ambient ultraviolet-B radiation, supplements and other factors interact to impact vitamin D status differently depending on ethnicity: A cross-sectional study

Margaret M. Brennan, Jos van Geffen, Michiel van Weele, Lina Zgaga 1, Rasha Shraim 1
Clinical Nutrition April 11, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2024.04.006

Note: A person far from the equator and outdoors for 3 hours
  WIll get little vitamin D if only morning or late afternoon
  With dark skin will get little vitamin D
  A person with concealing clothes will get little Vitamin D
Background & aims
Many determinants of vitamin D status have been well-described, yet supplementation guidelines largely follow a one-size-for-all model and deficiency remains common. We hypothesised that accounting accurately for ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation and considering interactions could advance understanding of vitamin D status.
Methods
Asian, Black, and White participants from the UK Biobank cohort were included (N = 438,978). The Tropospheric Emission Monitoring Internet Service provided UVB data which we linked to participants' place of residence. UVB dose over 135 days prior to blood draw was weighted and added, yielding cumulative and weighted UVB (CW-D-UVB). The association between 25(OH)D and selected variables was assessed in multivariable linear regression models with and without interactions, stratified by ethnicity. Predictors were ranked using standardised β-coefficients.
Results
Median 25(OH)D differed by ethnicity (Asian: 25.4 nmol/L (10.2 ng/mL), Black: 30.6 nmol/L (12.2 ng/mL), White: 47.9 nmol/L (19.2 ng/mL), p-value < 0.001). CW-D-UVB was strongly associated with 25(OH)D in all ethnicities. It was the most important predictor in White (βAsian = 0.15, βBlack = 0.20, βWhite = 0.35), whereas supplementation was in Asian and Black participants (βAsian = 0.30, βBlack = 0.24, βWhite = 0.21). We identified statistically significant interactions between BMI:supplementation (all), CW-D-UVB:sex (Asian and White), and CW-D-UVB:age (Black and White), and in White population between CW-D-UVB and supplementation, BMI, and cholesterol.
Conclusion
Vitamin D deficiency was widespread, particularly among non-White individuals. UVB was a strong predictor of 25(OH)D and the effect was modified by other factors. Findings suggest that accurately measured ambient-UVB radiation and interactions could improve 25(OH)D prediction models, and support personalised approaches to vitamin D optimisation.
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

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VitaminDWiki – Overview Obesity and Vitamin D contains:

• FACT: People who are obese have less vitamin D in their blood
• FACT: Obese need a higher dose of vitamin D to get to the same level of vit D
• FACT: When obese people lose weight the vitamin D level in their blood increases
• FACT: Adding Calcium, perhaps in the form of fortified milk, often reduces weight
• FACT: 168 trials for vitamin D intervention of obesity as of Dec 2021
• FACT: Less weight gain by senior women with > 30 ng of vitamin D
• FACT: Dieters lost additional 5 lbs if vitamin D supplementation got them above 32 ng - RCT
• FACT: Obese lost 3X more weight by adding $10 of Vitamin D
• FACT: Those with darker skins were more likely to be obese Sept 2014
• OBSERVATION: Low Vitamin D while pregnancy ==> more obese child and adult
• OBSERVATION: Many mammals had evolved to add fat and vitamin D in the autumn
  • and lose both in the Spring - unfortunately humans have forgotten to lose the fat in the Spring
• SPECULATION: Low vitamin D might be one of the causes of obesity – several studies
• SUGGESTION: Probably need more than 4,000 IU to lose weight if very low on vitamin D due to
    risk factors such as overweight, age, dark skin, live far from equator,shut-in, etc.
• Obesity category has 442 items

See also: Weight loss and Vitamin D - many studies   Child Obesity and Vitamin D - many studies   Obesity, Virus, and Vitamin D - many studies
Obese need more Vitamin D

• Normal weight     Obese     (50 ng = 125 nanomole)

Click here for 2014 study

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VitaminDWiki – Overview Dark Skin and Vitamin D contains

FACT - - People with dark skins have more health problems and higher mortality rate than those with light skins
FACT - - People with dark skins have low levels of vitamin D
FACT - - People with light skins who have low vitamin D have health problems
OBSERVATION - - The health problems of whites with low level of vitamin D are similar to those with dark skins
CONCLUSION - - People with dark skins have more health problems due to low levels of vitamin D
African American Health Disparities are associated with low Vitamin D - Grant Feb 2021
Low Vitamin D increases health problems - independent of skin color

Dark Skin studies: Pregnancy (30 studies),  Genetics (13 studies),  Vitamin D Binding Protein (8 studies),  Vitamin D Receptor (7 studies),  Diabetes (24 studies),   Cardiovascular (18 studies),  Mortality (12 studies), Intervention (16 studies) Click here to see the studies

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VitaminDWiki – Blacks die more often than whites of many diseases (they have less vitamin D) – 2012

Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans Cancer.org

• “African Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial and ethnic group in the US for most cancers”
• Has a huge number of tables and charts, Note: Vitamin D is not mentioned

Leading Causes of Death as of March 2018

All Ages Death rate	Black	White	Ratio
Heart diseases	217	171	1.27
Cancer	199	170	1.17
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	36	1.4
Diabetes	40	19	2.0

Rates per 100,000    Age adjusted   Non-Hispanic

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VitaminDWiki – Overview Deficiency of vitamin D contains

FACT: Much of the world is now vitamin D deficient
OBSERVATION:There are many reasons that a person may be vitamin D deficient
11 of the reasons for the epidemic are new in the past 40 years, Example: Air Conditioning
OBSERVATION: The more reasons that apply to an individual, the more likely he is to be deficient (additive reasons)
FACT: Vitamin D Deficiency has been associated with many diseases

FACT: Vitamin D intake can be increased by supplements, injection, UV, and sun (very little by food) 112 items

FACT: Adding vitamin D to diets has been proven E1 E2 in clinical trials to both PREVENT some and TREAT some diseases
OBSERVATION: Adding vitamin D (intervention) does PREVENT and TREAT additional diseases - more trials are underway
OBSERVATION: There are at least 10 ways to increase the response by the blood to vitamin D intake

Details at VitaminDWiki

• All items: Deficiency of Vitamin D 468 items
• Incidence of 22 health problems related to vitamin D have doubled in a decade many charts
• Vitamin D levels have been crashing since 1995 (Polish Children, Elite Military, etc)
• People with gut problems are low on vitamin D – April 2011
• Concealing clothing resulted in only 8 ng vitamin D – Feb 2011
• 23 ng of vitamin D in sunny Israel – Dec 2010
• Need to avoid the sun during the summer in Dubai
• Vitamin D deficiency spares no body part – NE Asia – Jan 2013
  • Diseases associated with Winter and the North are occurring in the Summer now that they can avoid the extreme summer heat with air conditioning
• Vitamin D less than 22 ng in Greece half of the year– May 2011
• Vitamin D insufficiency in UK youths – 37X more likely if dark skin – July 2011
• All items in Far From Equator 124 items
• Beijing extremely vitamin D deficient even in the fall: 10 ng – April 2013
• 93 % of US children had less than 30 ng of vitamin D Oct 2021
• 92 % of ALL Germans less than 30 ng - Jan 2012
• 92 % of German elderly less than 30 ng - Jan 2012
• 91 % of Japanese women less than 30 ng - 2012
• 90 % of Canadian youth less than 30 ng vitamin D – Oct 2010
• 90 % of Swiss men have less than 30 ng of vitamin D in the winter – Nov 2012
• 90 % of young health care professionals had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – Nov 2011
• 87 % of Tennessee general medicine patients had less than 32 ng of vitamin D – Jan 2011
• 86 % of UK elderly less than 30 ng - Jan 2010
• 86 % of US military has less than 32 ng of Vitamin D – Dec 2020
• 82 % of Swedes did not have the recommended amount of vitamin D – Feb 2011
• 80 % of teens in Europe had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – Aug 2011
• 79 % of middle aged Americans had less than 32 ng of vitamin D – July 2010
• 76 % of Irish had less than 30 ng of vitamin D – April 2013
• 70 % of Koreans in their twenties had less than 20ng of vitamin D – Dec 2010
• 50 % of Quebec kids had less than 20 ng of vitamin D – Milk and movement did not help – Mar 2011
• 42 % of US adults less than 20 ng of vitamin D and 82 % of blacks – Jan 2011
• 33 % of pre-teens in Tehran had less than 5 ng of vitamin D – Feb 2011
• 30 % of US had less than 20 ng of vitamin D - CDC March 2011
• 27 % of Turkish mothers has less than 11 ng of vitamin D
• Vitamin D could save More than 10,000 Canadian lives annually LEF
• Teens increasingly indoors - especially if dark skin - July 2010
• Criteria to associate a disease with the lack of vitamin D
• Many reasons why vitamin D deficiency has become epidemic
• Ways to increase the amount of vitamin D you get from the sun
• Review of Vitamin D Deficiencies in developing countries - Oct 2011
• Military and Vitamin D - many studies
• Quick, FREE, self-test for Vitamin D deficiency

• Health problem frequency - 1997 = rates of occurrence of human health problems