The darker the skin, the lower the level of vitamin D – even in tropical Malaysia – Nov 2014

Vitamin D Status in Malaysian Men and Its Associated Factors

Nutrients 2014, 6(12), 5419-5433; doi:10.3390/nu6125419 (registering DOI)
Kok-Yong Chin 1, Soelaiman Ima-Nirwana 1, imasoel@ppukm.ukm.edu.my, Suraya Ibrahim 2, Isa Naina Mohamed 1 and Wan Zurinah Wan Ngah 3
1 Department of Pharmacology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2 Nutrition Science Program, School of Healthcare Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3 Department of Biochemistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Bone Health)

VitaminDWiki Summary

Amazing that the study did not consider skin color
Following chart by VitaminDWiki from data in this study
Image

Skin color and vitamin D – Jablonski – Spring 2012 has the following map
skin color map

See also VitaminDWiki

see wikipage: http://www.vitamindwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page_id=2533

  • another study found the average vitamin D level in Malaysia about 18 ng

DSM 2014

 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki.


Vitamin D insufficiency is a global health problem. The data on vitamin D status in Malaysian men is insufficient. This study aimed to investigate vitamin D status among Chinese and Malay men in Malaysia and its associating factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 383 men aged 20 years and above, residing in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Their age, ethnicity, body anthropometry and calcaneal speed of sound (SOS) were recorded. Their fasting blood was collected for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), intact parathyroid (PTH), total calcium and inorganic phosphate assays. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a serum 25(OH)D level <30 nmol/L and insufficiency as a serum 25(OH)D level between 30 and 50 nmol/L. The overall prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 0.5%, and insufficiency was 22.7%. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were more prevalent in the Malays compared to the Chinese. Being Chinese, older in age, having lower body mass index (BMI) and a high physical activity status were associated significantly with a higher serum 25(OH)D level (p < 0.05). The serum PTH level was inversely associated with the serum 25(OH)D level (p < 0.05). As a conclusion, a significant proportion of Malaysian men have vitamin D insufficiency, although deficiency is uncommon. Steps should be taken to correct the vitamin D status of these men.

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