Low-vitamin D levels are associated with increases in risk factors for several diseases. Reseachers studied risk factors of vitamin D deficiency and published their results in the International Journal of Clinical Practice (vol. 60, 1013, 2006).
Researchers recruited 2,589 community-dwelling, postmenopausal women with osteoporosis from 18 countries to determine risk factors for vitamin D inadequacy and found 64 percent were vitamin D deficient. Asian ethnicity, living in non-equatorial countries, inadequate vitamin D supplementation, poor/fair health, lack of education about vitamin D, skin reactivity and no recent travel to sunny areas.
Several modifiable risk factors are associated with vitamin D inadequacy, and researchers recommend simple ways to increase vitamin D and improve bone health in postmenopausal women.
