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Vitamin D deficiency and hyperparathyroidism in relation to ethnicity: a cross-sectional survey in healthy adults

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Abstract

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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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique Médicale (FRSM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes & Serge Goldman

  2. Laboratory for Experimental Surgery L. Deloyers, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Yvon A. Carpentier

  3. Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Marleen Boelaert

  4. Haute Ecole Lucia de Brouckère, Campus CERIA, Brussels, Belgium

    Khadija El Moumni & Ghislaine Dufourny

  5. Ecole de Santé Publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Christine Bazelmans & Alain Levêque

  6. Dept. of Clinical Chemistry, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Christine Gervy

Authors
  1. Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes
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  2. Yvon A. Carpentier
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  4. Khadija El Moumni
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  9. Serge Goldman
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Correspondence to Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes.

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Moreno-Reyes, R., Carpentier, Y.A., Boelaert, M. et al. Vitamin D deficiency and hyperparathyroidism in relation to ethnicity: a cross-sectional survey in healthy adults. Eur J Nutr 48, 31–37 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-008-0756-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-008-0756-1

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