Trends in Vitamin A, C, D, E, K Supplement Prescriptions From Military Treatment Facilities: 2007 to 2011.
Mil Med. 2015 Jul;180(7):748-753.
Morioka TY1, Bolin JT1, Attipoe S1, Jones DR1, Stephens MB1, Deuster PA1.
1Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.
- Suspect it has been more than 5X in the most recent 5 years
- This appears to be number of prescriptions, not the amount of IU prescribed
- Suspect that even more vitamin D was consumed which was not prescribed.
See also VitaminDWiki
- Military and Vitamin D - many studies
- 3X increased chance of Breast Cancer if recent vitamin D levels were low – Jan 2013 in military
- Suicide 2X more likely with low vitamin D (in military) – Jan 2013
- 3X less Multiple Sclerosis with enough vitamin D - Veterans Administration
- US Army learning about benefits of vitamin D to trauma – Matthews Dec 2013
- Huge increase in Vitamin D supplementation in the US military (2005-13) – Oct 2016
See also web
- Vitamin D Status and Monitoring in Female Veterans April 2015
Authors: Ahmad Alazzeh MDa, Maria M. Cooper MS IIa, Beth Bailey PhDb, Dima A. Youssef MDc, Todd Manning BAd & Alan N. Peiris MD
"Vitamin D deficiency in female veterans was also associated with increased health-care costs. " - Vitamin D Status May Affect Resilience and Recovery from Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Military Personnel May 2014 full text online
- Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Stress Fractures in Military Personnel: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Nov 2014
Those with stress fractures had ~2 ng lower vitamin D levels at entry into basic training and at time of fracture - Changes in vitamin D and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in submariners during a submerged patrol Feb 2014
Abstract free, Publisher charges $47 for the PDF
Thus huge potential economic benefits to military for increasing Vitamin D include:
DECREASED brain trauma, stress fractures, suicide. breast cancer, MS, time in ICU, etc.
DECREASED COST Of health care for both active military and veterans
INCREASED FORCE READINESS
By the way: Vitamin C was the focus of perhaps the first Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) in 1758
It took the English govt over 100 years to give Vitamin C to their sailors
to increase "force readiness" to fight the French
INTRODUCTION:
Although prior studies have examined the prevalence of dietary supplement use among various populations, data on single vitamins prescribed by health care providers are limited.
OBJECTIVE:
This study examined trends in single-vitamin supplement (A, C, D, E, K) prescriptions by providers from military treatment facilities from 2007 to 2011.
METHODS:
We examined prescription data from the Department of Defense Pharmacy Data Transaction Service to determine trends in the aforementioned single-vitamin supplement prescriptions. Prescription rates per 1,000 active duty personnel were estimated using population data retrieved from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (i.e., [number of prescriptions/population size] × 1,000).
RESULTS:
Across the 5-year period, the number of vitamin D prescriptions per 1,000 active duty personnel increased 454%. In contrast, the number of vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin K prescriptions per 1,000 active duty personnel decreased by 32%, 53%, and 29% respectively. Vitamin C prescriptions remained relatively constant. Across all age groups, total single-vitamin supplement prescriptions increased by 180%.
CONCLUSION:
Together, prescriptions examined in this study increased steadily from 2007 to 2011, primarily because of the increase in vitamin D prescriptions. The exhibited trend reflects the current general-population pattern of dietary supplement use, with large increases in vitamin D and declines in vitamin E.
Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.
PMID: 26126244
Publisher wants $20 for the PDF
I thought that results of Govt funded studies were to be available FREE to the public
See also VitaminDWiki
- Vitamin D prescriptions increased 75X in 8 years (Tuscany, Italy) – June 2015
- 20X increase in vitamin D sold and 36 percent decrease in osteoporosis business in Australia – Nov 2013
We anticipate seeing a decrease in Osteoporosis visits in Tuscony, like that in Australia - Many more people now have vitamin D levels above 50 ng, especially seniors – May 2015
Increases in both Minnesota and Australia appear to be patient, rather than doctor initiated. - Huge increase in UK vitamin D prescriptions by July 2012
- Big increase in vitamin D supplementation in just 2 years after Swiss rheumatology report – Dec 2013