An estimate of the global reduction in mortality rates through doubling vitamin D levels

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition 2011-09, Vol.65 (9), p.1016-1026
• Main Author: Grant, W B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; 631/443/810; 692/699; 692/700/459/1994; Alfacalcidol; Alzheimer's disease; Autoimmune diseases; Calcifediol; Calciferol; Cancer; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Clinical Nutrition; Control; Daylight; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - mortality; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - prevention & control; Dietary Supplements; Disease; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Epidemiology; Female; Females; Geopolitics; Global health; Health aspects; Health risks; Heart diseases; Humans; Hypertension; Internal Medicine; Irradiance; Life expectancy; Life span; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Meningitis; Metabolic Diseases; Mortality; Movement disorders; Multiple sclerosis; Mycobacterium; Neoplasms - mortality; Neoplasms - prevention & control; Neurodegenerative diseases; Parkinson's disease; Physiological aspects; Pre-eclampsia; Pre-Eclampsia - mortality; Pre-Eclampsia - prevention & control; Pregnancy; Preventive medicine; Public Health; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory Tract Infections - mortality; Respiratory Tract Infections - prevention & control; review; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Risk factors (Health); Sepsis; Side effects; Sunlight; Sunshine; Tuberculosis; Ultraviolet radiation; Ultraviolet Rays; United States; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - administration & dosage; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamins - administration & dosage; Vitamins - blood
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.68

Background/Objectives: The goal of this work is to estimate the reduction in mortality rates for six geopolitical regions of the world under the assumption that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels increase from 54 to 110 nmol/l. Subjects/Methods: This study is based on interpretation of the journal literature relating to the effects of solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) and vitamin D in reducing the risk of disease and estimates of the serum 25(OH)D level–disease risk relations for cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and respiratory infections. The vitamin D-sensitive diseases that account for more than half of global mortality rates are CVD, cancer, respiratory infections, respiratory diseases, tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus. Additional vitamin D-sensitive diseases and conditions that account for 2 to 3% of global mortality rates are Alzheimer's disease, falls, meningitis, Parkinson's disease, maternal sepsis, maternal hypertension (pre-eclampsia) and multiple sclerosis. Increasing serum 25(OH)D levels from 54 to 110 nmol/l would reduce the vitamin D-sensitive disease mortality rate by an estimated 20%. Results: The reduction in all-cause mortality rates range from 7.6% for African females to 17.3% for European females. Reductions for males average 0.6% lower than for females. The estimated increase in life expectancy is 2 years for all six regions. Conclusions: Increasing serum 25(OH)D levels is the most cost-effective way to reduce global mortality rates, as the cost of vitamin D is very low and there are few adverse effects from oral intake and/or frequent moderate UVB irradiance with sufficient body surface area exposed.