Vitamin D deficiency is common in frail institutionalised older people in northern Sydney

Sambrook, Philip N; Cameron, Ian D; Cumming, Robert G; Lord, Stephen R; Schwarz, Jennifer M; Trube, Angelika; March, Lynnette M

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04557.x

Topics

To the Editor: Although treatment with vitamin D has been shown to reduce hip fracture risk in elderly institutionalised people,1 there has been a perception that vitamin D deficiency is generally uncommon in countries with high sunlight exposure such as Australia.

Correspondence: sambrook@med.usyd.edu.au

Acknowledgements:

This study was funded by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

1. Chapuy MC, Arlot ME, Duboeuf F, et al. Vitamin D3 and calcium to prevent hip fractures in elderly women. New Engl J Med 1992; 327: 1637-1642.
2. Du X, Greenfield H, David DR, et al. Vitamin D deficiency and associated factors in adolescent girls in Beijing. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 74: 494-500.
3. Stein M, Wark JD, Scherer SC, et al. Falls relate to vitamin D and parathyroid hormone in an Australian nursing home and hostel. J Am Ger Soc 1999; 47: 1195-1201.
4. Inderjeeth CA, Niklason F, Al-Lahham Y, et al. Vitamin D deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism: clinical and biochemical associations in older non-institutionalised southern Tasmanians. Aust N Z J Med 2000; 30: 209-214.
5. Pasco JA, Henry MJ, Nicholson GC, et al. Vitamin D status of women in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study: association with diet and casual exposure to sunlight. Med J Aust 2001; 175: 401-405.

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