Vitamin D intake and status in Irish postmenopausal women

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess vitamin D status during late-summer and late-winter/early- spring in postmenopausal Irish women, and whether it was influenced by vitamin D-containing supplement use. Design: A longitudinal observational study. Setting: Cork City, Ireland ( 511 north). Subjects: A total of 59 apparently healthy, free-living, postmenopausal women aged between 51 and 69 y were sampled during February/March 2002. Of these, 48 and 47 returned during August/September 2002 and February/March 2003, respectively. None of the women were suffering from any medical condition likely to affect vitamin D status. Fasting serums were collected and analysed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D ( 25 ( OH) D) and parathyroid hormone ( PTH) by enzyme immunoassays. Results: Mean daily intake of vitamin D was 3.2 mug from food sources alone and 5.8 mug when vitamin D-containing supplements were included (P<0.01). Serum 25 ( OH) D was significantly lower ( P<0.001) during February/ March 2002 than both August/ September 2002 and February/ March 2003. Serum 25 ( OH) D was also significantly higher (Pless than or equal to0.05) in women who were vitamin D-containing supplement users than nonusers during all three sampling points. Between 17 and 36% of women had inadequate vitamin D status ( defined as serum 25 ( OH) D <40 nmol/l) during late-winter, but only 4% had inadequate vitamin D status during late-summer. Serum 25 ( OH) D was inversely related to serum PTH ( r = - 0.33; P = 0.028). Conclusion: Suboptimal vitamin D status is common in postmenopausal Irish women during winter. Vitamin D supplementation is associated with improved vitamin D status, even during summertime. Sponsorship: Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000 - 2006.