August 2007

Vitamin D to be examined at NIH conference

A report about vitamin D and bone health that reviews scientific evidence and identifies its strengths and weaknesses will be examined at the upcoming National Institutes of Health (NIH) conference, scheduled Sept. 5–6.

“This independent, systematic review is timely because there are mixed messages and recommendations to consumers regarding the benefits and harms of vitamin D intake,” said NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) Director Paul M. Coates, PhD.    Researchers have long known that vitamin D had an impact on bone health, but there is uncertainty about how much vitamin D is needed to achieve optimal bone health and whether there are differences in the relationship of vitamin D status to bone health across age and life stage groups. This report highlights the fact that the largest amount of evidence for bone-health benefits is in postmenopausal women and older men (the majority older than age 60) taking vitamin D supplements.

The report also confirms that vitamin D from ultraviolet-B (sunlight) exposure, fortified foods, or dietary supplements are all effective in raising the level of circulating vitamin D. 

Of concern, there were only sparse data on other subgroups cited as being at high risk for the consequences of low vitamin D, such as dark-skinned individuals and pregnant and lactating women.  

To attend the conference, register at http://vitamindandhealth.od.nih.gov, where additional conference materials are available. The goals of the conference are to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vitamin D, identify gaps in knowledge on the efficacy and safety of vitamin D, inform NIH and other Federal agencies on vitamin D and health research priorities, and to disseminate the conference findings to the broad scientific nutrition community.

Source: National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov

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