Hi,
This just came through on Intelihealth, so I thought I'd pass it along. Hope
you find it helpful.
Kathleen Fallon Pasakarnis, M.Ed. IBCLC
African American Women Are At Greater Risk Of Vitamin D Deficiency Than White
Women
June 20, 2002
(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) -- Vitamin D is essential to
maximize skeletal heath from birth until death, and vitamin D deficiency
among women of childbearing age has received renewed attention.
Hypovitaminosis D in women of childbearing age may result in inadequate
transfer of maternal vitamin D to the fetus during pregnancy, which, in turn,
can lead to low infant stores. Nesby-O'Dell et al., publishing in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found in a study of women of
reproductive age that African American women had a much higher incidence of
hypovitaminosis D than white women.
In 1988-1994, the researchers examined 1546 African American women and 1426
white women aged 15 to 49 years, none of whom were pregnant. Hypovitaminosis
D was 10 times more prevalent in African American (42%) than in white women
(4%). Every determinant of vitamin D status contributed in some part to the
prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in the African American women, including
urban residence, increased skin melanin with low rates of casual sunlight
exposure, and low consumption of fortified milk and cereal. Even 10-30%
African American women who consumed adequate intakes of vitamin D from
supplements had hypovitaminosis D, indicating that the standard 200-400
IU/day found in most vitamin supplements may be inadequate for these women.
According to an accompanying editorial by Holick, adequate vitamin D may also
decrease the risk of developing some cancers, type 1 diabetes, and possibly
multiple sclerosis. He suggests that in the absence of adequate exposure to
sunlight, the recommended daily dosage of vitamin D should be raised to
¡Ý800-1,000 IU/day for people of all ages.
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtPrint/WSIHW000/333/343/351537.html?hide=t&
k=basePrint
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