Vitamin D deficiency (patient information)

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Vitamin D deficiency

Overview

What are the symptoms?

What are the causes?

Who is at highest risk?

Diagnosis

When to seek urgent medical care?

Treatment options

Where to find medical care for vitamin D deficiency?

Prevention

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Possible complications

Vitamin D deficiency On the Web

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

Images of vitamin D deficiency

Videos on vitamin D deficiency

FDA on vitamin D deficiency

CDC on vitamin D deficiency

vitamin D deficiency in the news

Blogs on vitamin D deficiency

Directions to Hospitals Treating vitamin D deficiency

Risk calculators and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sadaf Sharfaei M.D.[2]

Overview

Vitamin D deficiency means that you are not getting enough vitamin D to stay healthy. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. Calcium is one of the main building blocks of bone. Vitamin D also has a role in your nervous, muscle, and immune systems.

You can get vitamin D in three ways: through your skin, from your diet, and from supplements. Your body forms vitamin D naturally after exposure to sunlight. But too much sun exposure can lead to skin aging and skin cancer, so many people try to get their vitamin D from other sources.

What are the Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures.

Severe vitamin D deficiency can also lead to other diseases. In children, it can cause rickets. Rickets is a rare disease that causes the bones to become soft and bend. African American infants and children are at higher risk of getting rickets. In adults, severe vitamin D deficiency leads to osteomalacia. Osteomalacia causes weak bones, bone pain, and muscle weakness.

Researchers are studying vitamin D for its possible connections to several medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis. They need to do more research before they can understand the effects of vitamin D on these conditions.

What Causes vitamin D deficiency?

You can become deficient in vitamin D for different reasons:

  • You don't get enough vitamin D in your diet
  • You don't absorb enough vitamin D from food (a malabsorption problem)
  • You don't get enough exposure to sunlight.
  • Your liver or kidneys cannot convert vitamin D to its active form in the body.
  • You take medicines that interfere with your body's ability to convert or absorb vitamin D

Who is at Highest Risk?

Some people are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency:

Talk with your healthcare provider if you are at risk for vitamin D deficiency. There is a blood test which can measure how much vitamin D is in your body.

Diagnosis

When to Seek Urgent Medical Care?

Treatment Options

The amount of vitamin D you need each day depends on your age. The recommended amounts, in international units (IU), are

  • Birth to 12 months: 400 IU
  • Children 1-13 years: 600 IU
  • Teens 14-18 years: 600 IU
  • Adults 19-70 years: 600 IU
  • Adults 71 years and older: 800 IU
  • Pregnant and breastfeeding women: 600 IU

People at high risk of vitamin D deficiency may need more. Check with your health care provider about how much you need.

There are a few foods that naturally have some vitamin D:

  • Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel
  • Beef liver
  • Cheese
  • Mushrooms
  • Egg yolks

You can also get vitamin D from fortified foods. You can check the food labels to find out whether a food has vitamin D. Foods that often have added vitamin D include

  • Milk
  • Breakfast cereals
  • Orange juice
  • Other dairy products, such as yogurt
  • Soy drinks

Vitamin D is in many multivitamins. There are also vitamin D supplements, both in pills and a liquid for babies.

If you have vitamin D deficiency, the treatment is with supplements. Check with your health care provider about how much you need to take, how often you need to take it, and how long you need to take it.

Where to find Medical Care for vitamin D deficiency?

Medical care for vitamin D deficiency can be found here.

Prevention

What to Expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Possible Complications

Sources

https://medlineplus.gov/vitaminddeficiency.html

  • 25-hydroxy vitamin D test (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
  • Low Vitamin D: What Increases the Risk? (Harvard School of Public Health)
  • On the Possible Link between Vitamin D Deficiency and Cardiovascular Disease(American Heart Association)
  • Osteomalacia (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
  • Rickets: MedlinePlus Health Topic  (National Library of Medicine)
  • Vitamin D  (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements)Also in Spanish
  • Vitamin D Deficiency (Hormone Health Network) - PDF
  • Vitamin D Deficiency (Beyond the Basics) (UpToDate)
  • Vitamin D Test  (National Library of Medicine)Also in Spanish


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