Vitamin D and African Americans

doi:10.1093/jn/136.4.1126

The Journal of Nutrition

Volume 136, Issue 4, April 2006, Pages 1126-1129

1 Presented as part of the symposium “Optimizing Vitamin D Intake for Populations with Special Needs: Barriers to Effective Mechanisms of Food Fortification and Supplementation” given at the 2005 Experimental Biology meeting on April 4, 2005, San Diego, CA. The symposium was sponsored by the American Society for Nutrition and supported, in part, by educational grants from the Centrum Foundation of Canada, the Coca-Cola Company, and the Natural Ovens Bakery, Inc. The proceedings are published as a supplement to the Journal of Nutrition. This supplement is the responsibility of the guest editors to whom the editor of the Journal of Nutrition has delegated supervision of both technical conformity to the published regulations of the Journal of Nutrition and general oversight of the scientific merit of each article. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are not attributable to the sponsors or the publishers, editor, or editorial board of the Journal of Nutrition, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Food and Drug Administration. The guest editors for this symposium publication are Susan J. Whiting, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Mona S. Calvo, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD.

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ABSTRACT

Vitamin D insufficiency is more prevalent among African Americans (blacks) than other Americans and, in North America, most young, healthy blacks do not achieve optimal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations at any time of year. This is primarily due to the fact that pigmentation reduces vitamin D production in the skin. Also, from about puberty and onward, median vitamin D intakes of American blacks are below recommended intakes in every age group, with or without the inclusion of vitamin D from supplements. Despite their low 25(OH)D levels, blacks have lower rates of osteoporotic fractures. This may result in part from bone-protective adaptations that include an intestinal resistance to the actions of 1,25(OH)₂D and a skeletal resistance to the actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH). However, these mechanisms may not fully mitigate the harmful skeletal effects of low 25(OH)D and elevated PTH in blacks, at least among older individuals. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that vitamin D protects against other chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers, all of which are as prevalent or more prevalent among blacks than whites. Clinicians and educators should be encouraged to promote improved vitamin D status among blacks (and others) because of the low risk and low cost of vitamin D supplementation and its potentially broad health benefits.

KEY WORDS

vitamin D

African-Americans

25-hydroxyvitamin D

race

Abbreviations

25(OH)D

25-hydroxyvitamin D

1,25(OH)₂D

1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D

BMD

bone mineral density

DRI

dietary reference intakes

PTH

parathyroid hormone