Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Oct:144 Pt A:138-45.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2013.11.003. Epub 2013 Nov 12.

Is vitamin D deficiency a major global public health problem?

Cristina Palacios  1 , Lilliana Gonzalez  2
Affiliations
Review

Is vitamin D deficiency a major global public health problem?

Cristina Palacios et al. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide in all age groups, even in those residing in countries with low latitude, where it was generally assumed that UV radiation was adequate enough to prevent this deficiency, and in industrialized countries, where vitamin D fortification has been implemented now for years. However, most countries are still lacking data, particularly population representative data, with very limited information in infants, children, adolescents and pregnant women. Since the number of recent publications is escalating, with a broadening of the geographic diversity, the objective of the present report was to conduct a more recent systematic review of global vitamin D status, with particular emphasis in at risk groups. A systematic review was conducted in PubMed/Medline in April-June 2013 to identify articles on vitamin D status worldwide published in the last 10 years in apparently healthy individuals. Only studies with vitamin D status prevalence were included. If available, the first source selected was population-based or representative samples studies. Clinical trials, case-control studies, case reports or series, reviews, validation studies, letters, editorials, or qualitative studies were excluded. A total of 103 articles were eligible and included in the present report. Maps were created for each age group, providing an updated overview of global vitamin D status. In areas with available data, the prevalence of low vitamin D status is a global problem in all age groups, in particular in girls and women from the Middle East. These maps also evidenced the regions with missing data for each specific population groups. There is striking lack of data in infants, children and adolescents worldwide, and in most countries of South America and Africa. In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency is a global public health problem in all age groups, particularly in those from the Middle East. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled '16th Vitamin D Workshop'.

Keywords: Adolescents; Adults; Children; Elder; Infants; Pregnancy; Vitamin D deficiency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of low vitamin D status in infants worldwide.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of low vitamin D status in children worldwide.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of low vitamin D status in adolescents worldwide.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prevalence of low vitamin D status in adults worldwide.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Prevalence of low vitamin D status in pregnant or lactating women worldwide.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Prevalence of low vitamin D status in elders worldwide.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Holick MF, Chen TC. Vitamin D deficiency: a worldwide problem with health consequences. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008;87(4):1080S–1086S. - PubMed
    1. Mithal A, Wahl DA, Bonjour JP, Burckhardt P, Dawson-Hughes B, Eisman JA, El-Hajj Fuleihan G, Josse RG, Lips P, Morales-Torres J. IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors (CSA) Nutrition Working Group, Global vitamin D status and determinants of hypovitaminosis D. Osteoporos. Int. 2009;20(11):1807–1820. - PubMed
    1. van Schoor NM, Lips P. Worldwide vitamin D status. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2011;25(4):671–680. - PubMed
    1. Wahl DA, Cooper C, Ebeling PR, Eggersdorfer M, Hilger J, Hoffmann K, Josse R, Kanis JA, Mithal A, Pierroz DD, Stenmark J, Stocklin E, Dawson-Hughes B. A global representation of vitamin D status in healthy populations. Arch. Osteoporos. 2012;7(1–2):155–172. - PubMed
    1. Institute of Medicine, IOM. Dietary Reference Intakes for calcium and Vitamin D. Washington, DC: The National Academy Press; 2011.