Circannual prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in older and minoritized ethnic adults in Northern Britain: screening outcomes from a clinical trial (ISRCTN13778806).

内容摘要

Vitamin D is essential for bone and metabolic health. Deficiency remains a global health issue, particularly among older adults and ethnic minorities with darker skin pigmentation. Data on circannual variation these groups remain sparse. This study reports vitamin D status in older adults (&#x2009;&#x2265;&#x2009;65 years) and ethnic adults (&#x2009;&#x2265;&#x2009;18 years, Fitzpatrick classes IV-VI) in northern Britain, assessed during the screening phase of a supplementation trial. Participants were screened for inclusion between December 2024 and August 2025. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was assessed in dried blood spots followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. In total, 299 participants were screened. Vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency (&#x2009;<&#x2009;50 nmol/L) was noted in 54.8% of older adults and 72.1% of ethnic individuals. These rates did not decline during summer months. These findings highlight persistently high rates of vitamin D insufficiency across high-risk groups in northern Britain and underscore the inadequacy of sunlight exposure as a corrective measure.