vitamin d status in osteoporotic and diabetic patients and athletic healthy individuals from northern greece

Background: vitamin d deficiency is recognised as a pandemic in the developed world. however, the importance of prudent sun exposure tends to be overlooked, which is responsible for this pandemic.methods: we investigated the vitamin d status in 326 adults, 165 females and 161 males: 99 osteoporosis patients, 53 type 1 diabetes patients, 51 type 2 diabetes patients, and 123 athletic healthy individuals, from northern greece, through the measurement of total calcidiol in winter and summer by immunoenzymatic assay.results: in the whole sample 23.31% had severe deficiency, 13.50% mild deficiency, 17.48% insufficiency, and 45.71% adequacy at the end of winter. mean concentrations differed significantly (p <0.001) between males and females. the prevalence of deficiency in the young was significantly lower than in the middle-aged (p = 0.004) and in the elderly (p <0.001), while it was significantly lower (p = 0.014) in the middle-aged than in the elderly. the best vitamin d status was found in the athletic healthy individuals, followed by the type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, while osteoporotic patients had the poorest status. the difference in mean concentrations between winter and summer was significant (p <0.001).conclusions: vitamin d status deteriorated with increasing age and it was better in males than in females. our findings suggest that outdoor physical activity in a mediterranean country can cover the vitamin d needs of the young and the middle-aged, but not of the elderly, without the need for dietary supplements.