What causes vitamin d deffenciacy what causes vitamin d definacy in woman age 49 black femal

Until : Until a year and a half ag i was not screening for vitamin d. Recently due to published reports of much more prevalent vitamin d deficiency i started screening for it . To my shock and surprise over 60 percent of patients checked had vitamin d deficiency. Even the exact cause need to studied by more controlled trials, many reasons are contributing to this deficiency . In my opinion on the top of the list is our life style in the us in which we have very low exposure to good sun light, in which 7-dihydroxycholesterol is converted to bit d 3 and the liver converts d3 to 25- hydroxyvitamin d . The active form of vit d is 1, 25 di hydroxyvitamin d , the active form of vitamin d . So as you could see we need sun light , good liver, and good functioning kidneys. Of course we all need to have adequate intake of calcium, phosphorous and magnesium as well as a good functioning intestin to absorb these nutrients and the presence of good parathyroid hormone( produced by gland next to the thyroid in the neck area). So any problem in any part of body mentioned will cause vitamin d deficiency. Remember also some drugs like Dilantin and Phenobarbital used for seizures also alter the use of vit d . Genetic causes also block kidney conversion of vit d to the active form of vit d3. In summary we need good dietary calcium, good vitamin d in diet, good sunlight exposure, good functioning kidneys, liver, parathyroid gland and avoidance of certain medication, to prevent vit d deficiency.

The : The response you already received was thorough / excellent. I know that the farther north you live, the less sunshine you might experience, especially at this time of year. I also did not order vitamin d levels on many patients until a little over a year ago. I am in new england where it gets cold and snowy. I now get vitamin d levels on all of my patients that present with seasonal affective symptoms or depression. A high percentage have been vitamin d deficient. Many of these patients had low energy level, depressed mood, low sex drive, weight gain and craving for carbohydrates. In other words, for some people, vitamin d deficiency can present with depressive symptoms.