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Vitamin D concentrations in an UK inner-city multicultural outpatient population
Loretta Ford1, Valerie Graham, Alan Wall
1Clinical Biochemistry Department, City Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham B18 7QH, UK. Loretta.Ford@swbh.nhs.uk
Insights
Vitamin D deficiency remains a significant health issue in UK inner cities, particularly affecting Asian and Black Afro-Caribbean populations. Routine screening for vitamin D is crucial to address this widespread deficiency.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Nutritional Science
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread concern in the UK, with increasing rates of childhood rickets.
- Inner-city populations, particularly ethnic minorities, are at higher risk.
- A vitamin D testing service has been available in Birmingham for over a decade.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the distribution of vitamin D levels.
- To assess the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in a multi-ethnic inner-city population.
- To identify at-risk demographic groups within this population.
Main Methods:
- Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was measured.
- An automated platform (Nichol's Advantage Speciality System) was utilized.
- 830 random outpatient samples were analyzed, collected at the end of summer.
Main Results:
- Overall vitamin D deficiency prevalence was high at 24% (25-hydroxyvitamin D < 10 microg/L).
- Deficiency rates varied by ethnicity: 12.5% in Caucasians, 25% in Black Afro-Caribbeans, and 33.3% in Asians.
- Asian women exhibited the highest deficiency rate at 43%.
Conclusions:
- Widespread vitamin D deficiency persists in UK inner-city populations.
- High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is confirmed in Afro-Caribbean and Asian individuals, especially women.
- Increased routine screening for vitamin D is recommended to address this public health issue.
Background:
Vitamin D deficiency is still thought to be widespread in the UK and in recent years the number of cases of rickets reported in children has increased. In this study, the distribution of vitamin D and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency have been determined for a multi-ethnic population from the inner-city area of Birmingham, UK, where a vitamin D testing service has been readily available for over 10 years.
Methods:
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was determined using an automated platform (Nichol's Advantage Speciality System) for 830 outpatient samples collected randomly at the end of summer (September).
Results:
In our total study population, prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, defined as a 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration < 10 microg/L, was high (24%): one in eight Caucasians, one in four Black Afro-Caribbeans and one in three Asians were found to be deficient. Levels of deficiency were much higher in Asian women, with almost one in two individuals (43%) found to have a vitamin D level below 10 microg/L.
Conclusion:
Our study has shown that widespread vitamin D deficiency in a UK inner-city population remains an issue. In concordance with other studies, we found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Afro-Caribbean and Asians, and, in particular, women. It is clear that more routine screening of vitamin D is needed.
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