New Delhi, June 8: Vitamin D is not a screening test, so there is no need to routinely test for the essential vitamin that’s good for your bones and heart, doctors said Saturday in new guidelines from the Endocrine Society.
Also known as the sunshine vitamin, it is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in two main forms: D-2 and D-3.
It is an essential micronutrient important for bone and tooth development and for the normal functioning of the immune system, and several studies have shown that its deficiency is associated with common diseases including musculoskeletal, metabolic, cardiovascular, malignant, autoimmune and infectious diseases.
As a result, dietary supplement use among the general public has become widespread, and clinical testing has increased.
The US Endocrine Society issued new guidelines this week recommending that healthy adults not be tested for or take vitamin D supplements until age 75.
The committee suggested that generally healthy people not be routinely tested for 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
“Vitamin D is taken as a supplement by almost everyone involved in health, nutrition, health coaching etc. but they have no idea what the benefits of high levels or high doses of vitamin D are,” Phulrenu Chauhan, Consultant Endocrinologist and Head of Endocrinology at PD Hinduja Hospital told IANS.
He lamented that the institute also provides a Vitamin D rating in the package.
“Vitamin D testing does not need to be done routinely. It is only recommended in certain circumstances. It is by no means a screening test,” Foulerne said.
Under the new guidelines, vitamin D intake is only recommended for children, pregnant women, people aged 75 and over, and adults at high risk of prediabetes.
“Except for these specific conditions, routine testing of vitamin D levels is not recommended as it is costly and taking supplements may not yield good results in healthy people,” Anoop Misra, chairman and head of the diabetes and endocrinology department at Fortis C-Doc Hospital told IANS.
“Vitamin D deficiency is widespread among the Indian population, though its importance is unknown to a majority of people. Vitamin D can reduce the incidence of rickets in children, reduce mortality in older adults, reduce adverse outcomes for the foetus during pregnancy and prevent the onset of diabetes in people with pre-diabetes. In these circumstances, administration of Vitamin D is recommended,” the experts pointed out.
