Findings from a recent ORISCAV-LUX health survey stating that 80% of adults in the Grand Duchy are likely to suffer from inadequate vitamin D status has prompted the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) to provide a wake-up call to the Luxembourg public.
The ORISCAV-LUX study was conducted by the Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit of LIH's Department of Population Health, providing for the first time an assessment of vitamin D levels on a representative sample of the population. Although vitamin D deficits were already suspected to be an issue among the national population, the study carried out between 2007 and 2008 revealed that an unhealthy lack of vitamin D was determined in 80% of cases.
Vitamin D is synthesised by the skin when exposed to ultraviolet B radiation, or UVB, from sunlight and food intake, though to a lesser degree in the case of the latter. Vitamin D has long been known as an essential component in bone health, and has become of increasing focus in cross-sectoral health studies in recent years.
Despite Luxembourg's geographic location and climactic conditions which would generally be considered unfavourable to UVB exposure, the Grand Duchy was in fact previously one of the few European countries which did not have national data on vitamin D levels.
"The study has been conducted between 2007 and 2008 on a sample of 1,432 health adults," explained Dr. Alkerwi, principal investigator and project leader of the ORISCAV-LUX study for LIH. "In more than 80% of the cases, an inadequate status of vitamin D (<75 nmol/L) was detected".
Combining the result with socio-demographic, clinical data and information on the participants' lifestyle allowed for the identification of population groups particularly susceptible to vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Alkerwi cited the most vulnerable groups as being smokers, with a twofold risk increase compared with non-smokers, overweight people and residents of Portuguese origin or from non-European countries.
"Interestingly, people who considered themselves as being in a poor health conditio has generally lower vitamin D levels," continued Dr. Alkerwi. "This suggests that vitamin D deficiency may also represent a marker of poor general well being".
As an optimal level of vitamin D can be integral to healthy ageing, these findings are of utmost importance for physicians and public health authorities. It is also essential that the Luxembourg population and healthcare professionals become more aware of vitamin D importance, in order to obtain concrete recommendations on adopting health behaviour to combat this major health problem in Luxembourg.
"Vitamin D insufficiency, in addition to being involved in osteoporosis or muscle fatigure in the elderly, is thought to be associated with common chronic disease such as cancer, immune disorders and cardiovascular diseases," stated Professor. Saverio Stranger, co-author and Scientific Director of the Population Health Department of LIH. LIH however did not confirm whether oral supplementation would be a potential or ideal solution.
Photo by LIH
