Yannis Manios1, George Moschonis2, Christina-Paulina Lambrinou3, Konstantina Tsoutsoulopoulou3, Panagiota Binou3, Alexandra Karachaliou3, Christina Breidenassel4, Marcela Gonzalez-Gross4, Mairead Kiely5,6, Kevin D Cashman5,7. 1. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, 70 El Venizelou Avenue, Kallithea, 17671, Athens, Greece. manios@hua.gr. 2. Department of Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Sport, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, Melbourne, Australia. 3. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, 70 El Venizelou Avenue, Kallithea, 17671, Athens, Greece. 4. ImFINE Research Group, Department of Health and Human Performance, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 5. Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. 6. The Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT), University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. 7. Department of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Despite an acknowledged dearth of data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations from Southern European countries, inter-country comparison is hampered by inconsistent data reporting. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a systematic literature review of available data on serum 25(OH)D concentrations and estimate vitamin D status in Southern European and Eastern Mediterranean countries, both at a population level and within key population subgroups, stratified by age, sex, season and country. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify and retrieve scientific articles reporting data on serum 25(OH)D concentration and/or vitamin D status following standard procedures. RESULTS: Data were extracted from 107 studies, stratified by sex and age group, representing 630,093 individuals. More than one-third of the studies reported mean 25(OH)D concentrations below 50 nmol/L and ~ 10% reported mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 25 nmol/L. Overall, females, neonates/ infants and adolescents had the higher prevalence of poor vitamin D status. As expected, there was considerable variability between studies. Specifically, mean 25(OH)D ranged from 6.0 (in Italian centenarians) to 158 nmol/L (in elderly Turkish men); the prevalence of serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L ranged from 6.8 to 97.9% (in Italian neonates). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to expectations, there was a high prevalence of low vitamin D status in the Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, despite abundant sunshine. These data further emphasize the need for strategies, such as fortification of foods with vitamin D and/or vitamin D supplementation, which will be tailored to the needs of specific population groups with higher risk of insufficiency or deficiency, to efficiently tackle the pandemic of hypovitaminosis D in Europe.
PURPOSE: Despite an acknowledged dearth of data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations from Southern European countries, inter-country comparison is hampered by inconsistent data reporting. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a systematic literature review of available data on serum 25(OH)D concentrations and estimate vitamin D status in Southern European and Eastern Mediterranean countries, both at a population level and within key population subgroups, stratified by age, sex, season and country. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify and retrieve scientific articles reporting data on serum 25(OH)D concentration and/or vitamin D status following standard procedures. RESULTS: Data were extracted from 107 studies, stratified by sex and age group, representing 630,093 individuals. More than one-third of the studies reported mean 25(OH)D concentrations below 50 nmol/L and ~ 10% reported mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 25 nmol/L. Overall, females, neonates/ infants and adolescents had the higher prevalence of poor vitamin D status. As expected, there was considerable variability between studies. Specifically, mean 25(OH)D ranged from 6.0 (in Italian centenarians) to 158 nmol/L (in elderly Turkish men); the prevalence of serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L ranged from 6.8 to 97.9% (in Italian neonates). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to expectations, there was a high prevalence of low vitamin D status in the Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, despite abundant sunshine. These data further emphasize the need for strategies, such as fortification of foods with vitamin D and/or vitamin D supplementation, which will be tailored to the needs of specific population groups with higher risk of insufficiency or deficiency, to efficiently tackle the pandemic of hypovitaminosis D in Europe.
Entities:
Keywords:
East Mediterranean; Prevalence; South Europe; Vitamin D
Authors: José M Olmos; José L Hernández; Josefina Martínez; Emilio Pariente; Javier Llorca; Jesús González-Macías Journal: Clin Chim Acta Date: 2010-06-18 Impact factor: 3.786
Authors: Francesco Vierucci; Marta Del Pistoia; Margherita Fanos; Martina Gori; Giorgia Carlone; Paola Erba; Gabriele Massimetti; Giovanni Federico; Giuseppe Saggese Journal: Eur J Pediatr Date: 2013-12 Impact factor: 3.183
Authors: R Cesareo; E Di Stasio; F Vescini; G Campagna; R Cianni; V Pasqualini; F Romitelli; F Grimaldi; S Manfrini; A Palermo Journal: Osteoporos Int Date: 2014-12-19 Impact factor: 4.507
Authors: Karen M O'Callaghan; Mahgol Taghivand; Anna Zuchniak; Akpevwe Onoyovwi; Jill Korsiak; Michael Leung; Daniel E Roth Journal: Adv Nutr Date: 2020-01-01 Impact factor: 8.701