Dr. Michael Holick, a Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics from the Section of Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Diabetes, Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory at Boston University Medical Center, in Boston, MA, in an article appearing in the July 2013 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, shares the value and role vitamin D plays throughout a person’s entire life in regard to bone health and non-skeletal health benefits that have been associated with reduced risk of many...

Background: Obese adolescents are at a greater risk for vitamin D deficiency because the vitamin is thought to be sequestered by excess adipose tissue. Poor vitamin D status has been associated with a higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes in both adults and adolescents. Objective: To determine in obese adolescents the efficacy and safety of 4000 IU/day of vitamin D3; and if subsequent increased circulating concentrations of 25 hydroxyvitamin D [(25(OH)D] are...

Background: Weight loss (WL) is associated with a decrease in calcium absorption and may be one mechanism that induces bone loss with weight reduction. Objective: Because vitamin D supplementation has been shown to increase true fractional calcium absorption (TFCA), the goal of this study was to examine the effect of vitamin D during WL or weight maintenance (WM). Design: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 6-wk study was conducted in 82 postmenopausal women [BMI (in kg/...

Sarah Fair presents her scientific poster about removing manual pipetting from the analysis of vitamin D metabolites, testosterone and cortisol using the accuracy and precision of the Thermo Scientific Platemate Pipetting Workstation. Using the automated system offered significant time savings and passed all acceptance criteria for the compounds tested.

Background: Currently, there is a lack of clarity in the literature as to whether there is a definitive difference between the effects of vitamins D2 and D3 in the raising of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. Objective: The objective of this article was to report a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have directly compared the effects of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 on serum 25(OH)D concentrations in humans. Design: The ISI Web of Knowledge...

Background: Low vitamin D status may increase mortality risk. OBJECTIVE: We used nonparametric ("highest compared with lowest" categories) and parametric (>2 categories) statistical models to evaluate associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum concentrations and mortality in observational studies among general populations. DESIGN: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and reference lists for relevant articles. We included studies that contained data on relative risks (RRs)...

These powerpoint slides describe the background, objective, methods, main results, discussion, and conclusion of the article. Background: Although studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), evidence regarding whether vitamin D intake from foods or supplements is prospectively associated with lower CVD risk in healthy humans is limited and inconclusive. Objective: The objective was to comprehensively evaluate the associations between...

Dr. Tom Thacher from the Department of Family Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, discusses his article (available at: http://tinyurl.com/25q2ytu ) entitled "A Critical Review of Vitamin D Insufficiency," which appears in the January 2011 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Dr. Elise Schroeder, ZRT Laboratory Clinical Consultant, talks about the prevalent Vitamin D deficiency, how important Vitamin D is to our health, how to determine if your Vitamin D levels are normal, and if low, how to supplement.

Morehouse College Student, Jeremey Ezell, discusses the relationships between skin color, vitamin D and health.