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Published on: July 14, 2023
Vitamin D deficiency and hyperparathyroidism in relation to ethnicity: a cross-sectional survey in healthy adults
Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes1, Yvon A Carpentier, Marleen Boelaert
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium. rmorenor@ulb.ac.be
Background:
The study of vitamin D status at population level gained relevance since vitamin D deficiency was recently suggested to trigger chronic disease.
Aim Of The Study:
We aimed to describe vitamin D status, its association with bone and mineral metabolism and risk factors for deficiency in adults over 40 years in Belgium.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a stratified random sample of 401 subjects aged between 40 and 60 years living in Brussels, and drawn from 4 different ethnic backgrounds: autochthonous Belgian, Moroccan, Turkish and Congolese. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), parathyroid hormone (PTH), osteocalcin, C-telopeptide and bone mineral density was measured.
Results:
Three-hundred and six subjects (77%) showed 25OHD concentrations below 50 nmol/l,135 (34%) below 25 nmol/l and 18 (5%) below 12.5 nmol/l. The proportion of subjects with vitamin D deficiency was four times greater amongst those of Moroccan or Turkish descent compared with those of Congolese or Belgian descent. Moroccan subjects showed a significant higher PTH and bone marker concentrations compared to Belgian. Ethnicity, season and sex were independently associated with vitamin D deficiency in multivariate analysis.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is very high amongst the adult population of Brussels but immigrants are at greater risk. Given the established link between population health and adequate vitamin D status, a policy of vitamin D supplementation should be considered in these risk groups.
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