Vol 37, (12) 1002-1005
Vitamin D - A review
Mark L Stroud MBBS, MPH+TM, DipRACOG, FRACGP, is Senior Consultant, Department of Family Medicine Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Simon Stilgoe MBChB, LRCP, LRCS, LRCP&S, DipFamMed, is a general practitioner, Booleroo Centre, South Australia.
Valerie E Stott MD, MSc, CCFP, is Senior Consultant, Department of Family Medicine, Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Oula Alhabian MD, ABFM, is Senior Consultant, Department of Family Medicine, Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Khaled Salman MB, BCh, MSc, MD, is Specialist, Department of Family Medicine, Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Family Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt.
BACKGROUND Vitamin D status affects musculoskeletal health. More recently, the nonmusculoskeletal actions of vitamin D have become increasingly documented including endocrine effect on kidneys and intestine, local autocrine effects on cell differentiation, proliferation and immune modulation, and cell membrane effects including promotion of the intestinal absorption of calcium and the secretion of insulin.
OBJECTIVE This article discusses the actions, sources and measurement of vitamin D, and the treatment of established deficiency. It explores what is known about vitamin D, what remains to be discovered, and how clinicians should manage their patients in the interim.
DISCUSSION Vitamin D is produced by the same solar radiation that causes skin cancer and aging. Levels in breast milk are low in vitamin depleted breastfeeding women. Despite these realities, there is an opportunity to use existing public health messages to treat the widespread deficiency of vitamin D.
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