health
Nearly 80 million Americans don’t need vitamin D supplements
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 29, 2012
An estimated 78.7 million U.S. adults no longer should take vitamin D supplements under revised Institute of Medicine guidelines, says a study published online Oct. 24 in PLoS ONE.
On Nov. 30, 2010, the IOM issued a report that said a vitamin D blood level at or above 20 ng/ml is adequate for nearly all adults. That marked a significant shift from guidance issued in 1997, which indicated that adults needed more than 30 ng/ml of the nutrient.
The IOM now says vitamin D deficiency is overestimated in the U.S. and Canada, and benefits of the nutrient, besides bone health, have not been proven. By comparing the 2010 guidelines with the 1997 guidance, researchers determined that nearly 80 million people did not need to take vitamin D supplements.
Researchers examined data on 15,099 adults who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1988 and 2006. Of those participants, 1,097 had chronic kidney disease, which has been linked to low vitamin D levels.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/10/29/hlbf1029.htm.
