Vitamin D: a rapid review.

Full Abstract

Interest in all aspects of vitamin D seems to be surging due to perhaps the increased number of diverse positive studies suggesting it could prevent a variety of chronic diseases. However, before patients and health care professionals are educated on the preventive aspects of this vitamin that acts more like a hormone, a basic rapid review of vitamin D is needed. There are multiple reasons for the high rate of vitamin D deficiency around the world, including an aging population, obesity, protective skin care measures, skin pigmentation, increased awareness, more utilized diagnostic assays, and perhaps even the lack of natural and fortified food and beverage sources. Various benefits and limitations of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 supplementation are discussed. The proper use of the vitamin D blood test, also known as "25-OH vitamin D," is important, and changing the normal range of this test may allow for a slightly higher cutoff value based on parathyroid hormone reductions and experience from clinical trials of osteoporosis prevention. The vitamin D doses needed to adequately increase blood levels are provided. Finally, increasing the recommended daily allowance of this vitamin to 800 to 1,000 IU per day may be beneficial for most age groups.

Author information

Author/s: Moyad, Mark A (MA);

Affiliation: University of Michigan Medical Center, Department of Urology, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: Urologic nursing : official journal of the American Urological Association Allied (Urol Nurs), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Oct; vol 28 (issue 5) : pp 343-9, 384; quiz 350

Dates: Created 2008/11/04; Completed 2008/12/17; Revised 2009/04/16;

PMID: 18980100, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 4/16/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

ReprintIn: Dermatol Nurs. 2009 Jan-Feb;21(1):25-30, 55. (PMID: 19283958)

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Nutrition Policy
Nutritive Value
Reference Values
Reproducibility of Results
Risk Factors
Vitamin D - adverse effects; physiology; therapeutic use
Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; drug therapy; epidemiology; prevention & control
Vitamins - adverse effects; physiology; therapeutic use
World Health

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

Associated Chemicals: Ergocalciferols (0) ; Vitamins (0) ; Vitamin D (1406-16-2) ; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2 (21343-40-8) ; Cholecalciferol (67-97-0) ; Calcium (7440-70-2)

These are the most related articles currently in our database: