Vitamin D Status and Its Correlation With Anthropometric and Biochemical Indicators of Cardiometabolic Risk in Serbian Underground Coal Miners in 2016
Front Nutr. 2021 Aug 19;8:689214. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.689214. eCollection 2021.
Ivana Šarac 1, Jovica Jovanović 2, Manja Zec 1, Zoran Pavlović 3, Jasmina Debeljak-Martačić 1, Milica Zeković 1, Jelena Milešević 1, Mirjana Gurinović 1, Maria Glibetić 1
Other mines had not found these high Vitamin D levels (3% <30 ng/ml. 11% > 80 ng/ml)
The study speculated various reasons
The only speculation which seems remotely possible is that miners gardened and did agricultural work when not mining
However, even farmers out all day long at the latitude to not get to >80ng/ml level
VitaminDWiki founder speculates:
1) Food was fortified with Vitamin D
2)The mine used lighting that emits UVB – such as mercury arc, fluorescent lamps
These lamps naturally generate UVB, but most manufacturers use glass that blocks UVB
A few groups which have added Vitamin D via UVB lighting have found great increases in health:
See also
- Employers should give night shift workers free vitamin D – GMB Union June 2019
- RDA of Vitamins and minerals reduced incarceration by 2,993 dollars per prisoner – RCT Jan 2021
- Note: The Return On Investment (ROI) =100X
- 2200X more problems from no UVB than too much UVB - WHO 2006
- Make your own UVB Vitamin D lamp for 40 dollars - Jan 2019 generate lots of Vitamin D while sitting at desk
Mercury Arc Spectrum (if not filtered)
Clipped from the PDF: "Only four of the coal miners consumed supplements of VitD."
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
The status of vitamin D in underground working coal miners and its association with their cardiometabolic health is rarely studied. This study aimed to examine vitamin D (VitD) status in Serbian underground coal miners and to correlate it with anthropometric and laboratory indicators of cardiometabolic risk. Nutritional data (food frequency questionnaire, FFQ, and two times repeated 24 h recall), anthropometric data (including segmental analysis by bio-impedance analyzer TANITA BC-545N), arterial tension, and biochemical and hematological data of 103 coal miners (aged 22-63 years) were correlated with their late summer (early September) serum 25 (OH)D levels (measured by HPLC). 68.9% of the studied coal miners were overweight/obese, and 48.5% had metabolic syndrome. Their mean VitD nutritional intakes were low: 5.3 ± 3.8 μg/day (FFQ) and 4.9 ± 8 μg/day (24 h recalls), but their mean serum 25 (OH)D levels were surprisingly high (143.7 ± 41.4 nmol/L).
- Only 2.9% of the coal miners had 25(OH)D levels lower than 75 nmol/L
- (indicating an insufficient/deficient status), while
- 63.2% had values above 125 nmol/L (upper optimal limit), and even
- 10.7% had values above 200 nmol/L (80 ng/ml)
There were no statistical differences in 25 (OH)D levels in the coal miners with or without metabolic syndrome (or overweight/obesity).
Interestingly, 25(OH)D levels had significant positive correlations with body mass index (BMI), fat mass (FM), fat mass percentage (FM%), limbs FM%, serum triglycerides, GGT, AST, ALT, and ALT/AST ratio, and had significant negative correlations with serum HDL-cholesterol and age. All these correlations were lost after corrections for age, FM, FM%, and legs FM%.
In Serbian coal miners, high levels of early September VitD levels were observed, indicating sufficient non-working-hour sun exposure during the summer period. Furthermore, the unexpected positive correlations of VitD levels with anthropometric and biochemical parameters indicative of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and fatty liver disease were found. More research is needed on the VitD status of coal miners (particularly in the winter period) and its relationship with their cardiometabolic