Vitamin D insufficiency in Aboriginal Australians

• DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb04195.x
• Publication Date: 2019-09-24T09:37:28Z
• Authors: Simon J Vanlint; Howard A Morris; Jonathan W Newbury; Alan J Crockett
• Keywords: Adult; Blood Glucose; Male; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Adolescent; 333; Collagen Type I; Calcification; Cohort Studies; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Calcification, Physiologic; 0302 clinical medicine; South Australia; Prevalence; Humans; Vitamin D; Physiologic; Aged; 2. Zero hunger; Middle Aged; Vitamin D Deficiency; Peptide Fragments; 3. Good health; Parathyroid Hormone; Female; Peptides; Procollagen

To investigate the adequacy of vitamin D status in a South Australian Aboriginal population, and to examine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels and biochemical variables of calcium and bone mineral homeostasis, as well as other factors which may influence vitamin D synthesis, storage and metabolism.A single-visit, observational study of 58 adults from two Aboriginal community-controlled health services in Adelaide and Yalata, South Australia. Participants were recruited between May 2008 and December 2009.Serum levels of 25-OHD, parathyroid hormone (PTH), fasting glucose and fasting C-terminal telopeptides of type I collagen (β-CTx).Serum 25-OHD levels showed clear seasonal variation, being higher in summer (P < 0.001). The overall mean level was 56.8 nmol/L (SD, 22.1), which is below the recommended target level of 60 nmol/L. Serum 25-OHD levels correlated significantly with β-CTx (P = 0.03), but not with age, body mass index (BMI), PTH levels or levels of fasting glucose. A significant association was found between BMI and PTH levels (P = 0.001). A significant inverse association between serum 25-OHD levels and BMI, observed in other studies, was not found in our study.Vitamin D insufficiency is highly prevalent in this population of adult Aboriginal Australians, with low mean values found in all seasons other than summer.