The Endocrine Society has recently updated its guidelines on Vitamin D testing in healthy individuals. Should this be a routine screening test or should it be required only after clinical evaluation? These ambiguities have been clarified by the Endocrine Society. Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Co-chair, National IMA Corona Task Force and Chairman, Research Wing, IMA, Kerala, joins Simona Kanwar to decipher the new guidelines.
Vitamin D is a hormone
Vitamin D is not technically a vitamin. Unlike other vitamins that need to be supplemented with an external source, vitamin D can be produced by the body using its own compounds. It is therefore more like a hormone than a vitamin. For this reason, doctors use vitamin D to treat a variety of conditions, with caution in dosage.
Is Vitamin D a magic pill?
➤ Vitamins are tagged on social media and promoted as health foods, so they are often taken casually even when not medically indicated.
➤ Vitamin D is produced in the skin upon exposure to sunlight and converted to its active form in the liver and kidneys for use in various functions in the human body.
What do the new guidelines address? Who needs Vitamin D testing?
For patients whose medical condition raises the question of whether vitamin D deficiency is the cause, doctors will order tests to check blood levels of vitamin D. This is not considered a “routine test,” but is done in situations where it is clinically indicated, such as muscle weakness, pain, or difficulty rising from a sitting position.
What are normal levels of Vitamin D?
➤ Opinion is divided on the optimal level of vitamin D. Laboratories often classify vitamin D levels into several categories using somewhat confusing and misleading terms such as “normal,” “optimal,” “vitamin D sufficiency,” “vitamin D insufficiency,” and “deficiency,” but the new guidelines do not require all of these.
➤ The Endocrine Society no longer recommends specific levels to define vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, or deficiency because no levels have been established that confer outcome-specific benefits in healthy adults.
Who needs supplements?
➤ Not something everyone should take on a daily basis.
➤This is only for people who don’t get enough Vitamin D in their diet, don’t produce it properly in their body, and are at risk for certain health problems.
➤The Indian diet is not very rich in Vitamin D. The main reason is that foods like milk, juice, flour, bread etc. are not fortified with Vitamin D, unlike in Western countries.
Pregnant women
Pregnant women, despite having higher needs, are prone to vitamin D deficiency because they are often confined indoors. Vitamin D supplements can be prescribed to improve pregnancy outcomes.
All seniors
Vitamin D supplementation is recommended for older adults, but whether this applies in sunny, warm countries like India is a matter for debate.
Vitamin D is a hormone
Vitamin D is not technically a vitamin. Unlike other vitamins that need to be supplemented with an external source, vitamin D can be produced by the body using its own compounds. It is therefore more like a hormone than a vitamin. For this reason, doctors use vitamin D to treat a variety of conditions, with caution in dosage.
Is Vitamin D a magic pill?
➤ Vitamins are tagged on social media and promoted as health foods, so they are often taken casually even when not medically indicated.
➤ Vitamin D is produced in the skin upon exposure to sunlight and converted to its active form in the liver and kidneys for use in various functions in the human body.
What do the new guidelines address? Who needs Vitamin D testing?
For patients whose medical condition raises the question of whether vitamin D deficiency is the cause, doctors will order tests to check blood levels of vitamin D. This is not considered a “routine test,” but is done in situations where it is clinically indicated, such as muscle weakness, pain, or difficulty rising from a sitting position.
What are normal levels of Vitamin D?
➤ Opinion is divided on the optimal level of vitamin D. Laboratories often classify vitamin D levels into several categories using somewhat confusing and misleading terms such as “normal,” “optimal,” “vitamin D sufficiency,” “vitamin D insufficiency,” and “deficiency,” but the new guidelines do not require all of these.
➤ The Endocrine Society no longer recommends specific levels to define vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, or deficiency because no levels have been established that confer outcome-specific benefits in healthy adults.
Who needs supplements?
➤ Not something everyone should take on a daily basis.
➤This is only for people who don’t get enough Vitamin D in their diet, don’t produce it properly in their body, and are at risk for certain health problems.
➤The Indian diet is not very rich in Vitamin D. The main reason is that foods like milk, juice, flour, bread etc. are not fortified with Vitamin D, unlike in Western countries.
Pregnant women
Pregnant women, despite having higher needs, are prone to vitamin D deficiency because they are often confined indoors. Vitamin D supplements can be prescribed to improve pregnancy outcomes.
All seniors
Vitamin D supplementation is recommended for older adults, but whether this applies in sunny, warm countries like India is a matter for debate.
