Very low levels of vitamin D in the Arctic (only 1% of teens have 30 ng level) – Oct 2023

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Low vitamin D levels among children and adolescents in an Arctic population

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health Vol 51, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221092287
Svetlana Malyavskaya, Galina Kostrova and Аndrey Lebedev+1

Aims:
We aimed to study the vitamin D status of the population of Arkhangelsk, a city in northwestern Russia.

Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate serum 25(OH)D concentrations in Arkhangelsk residents, including 55 neonates and their mothers, 214 children <3 years, 191 schoolchildren (7–8 years), 403 adolescents (13–17 years), 260 university students (18–22 years) and 85 adults (24–60 years). The data were collected from March 2013 to November 2014 and from January 2016 to May 2016.

Results:
Normal levels of 25(OH)D (>30 ng/ml) were found in 5% of neonates, 43% of their mothers, 43% of children <3 years, 9% of schoolchildren, 1% of adolescents, 17% of students and 26% of adults. There was a moderate positive correlation (rs = 0.563, p = 0.001) between 25(OH)D levels in mother’s blood and umbilical cord blood.

Conclusions:
Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in the population of Arkhangelsk, particularly in neonates, schoolchildren and adolescents.

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VitaminDWiki – Vitamin D Far from Equator category contains:

124 items in category Vitamin D Far from Equator
See also: High Risk
Vitamin D varies with latitude
Many diseases increase with latitude (low UV, Vitamin D)
Russia and Vitamin D - many studies
Iceland and Vitamin D - many studies
After years of adding vitamin D, Finland now has 38 ng levels - March 2022
2400 IU of vitamin D needed to get most Northern adults above 20 ng – June 2020

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5+ VitaminDWiki pages have ARCTIC or ANTARCTIC in the title

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