Traditionally living populations in East Africa have a mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration of 115 nmol/l

Cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D by exposure to UVB is the principal source of vitamin D in the human body. Our current clothing habits and reduced time spent outdoors put us at risk of many insufficiency-related diseases that are associated with calcaemic and non-calcaemic functions of vitamin D. P...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of nutrition Vol. 108; no. 9; pp. 1557 - 1561
Main Authors: Luxwolda, Martine F., Kuipers, Remko S., Kema, Ido P., Janneke Dijck-Brouwer, D. A., Muskiet, Frits A. J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 14.11.2012
Subjects:
25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2 - blood
Adolescent
Adult
African Continental Ancestry Group
Aged
blood serum
body mass index
Calcifediol - blood
calcium
Developing Countries
direct contact
Female
Homeostasis
Humans
Life Style - ethnology
lifestyle
Liquid chromatography
Male
males
Middle Aged
Nutrition research
Nutritional Requirements
people
risk
Rural Health - ethnology
Short Communication
Skin Pigmentation
solar radiation
Sunlight
Tanzania
Tanzania - epidemiology
Vitamin D
Vitamin D Deficiency - blood
Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology
Vitamin D Deficiency - ethnology
Vitamin D Deficiency - prevention & control
vitamin status
Young Adult
Tanzania
East Africa
Evolution
Hadzabe
Maasai
25-Hydroxyvitamin D
ISSN:0007-1145, 1475-2662, 1475-2662
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D by exposure to UVB is the principal source of vitamin D in the human body. Our current clothing habits and reduced time spent outdoors put us at risk of many insufficiency-related diseases that are associated with calcaemic and non-calcaemic functions of vitamin D. Populations with traditional lifestyles having lifelong, year-round exposure to tropical sunlight might provide us with information on optimal vitamin D status from an evolutionary perspective. We measured the sum of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3 (25(OH)D) concentrations of thirty-five pastoral Maasai (34 (sd 10) years, 43 % male) and twenty-five Hadzabe hunter–gatherers (35 (sd 12) years, 84 % male) living in Tanzania. They have skin type VI, have a moderate degree of clothing, spend the major part of the day outdoors, but avoid direct exposure to sunlight when possible. Their 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography–MS/MS. The mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations of Maasai and Hadzabe were 119 (range 58–167) and 109 (range 71–171) nmol/l, respectively. These concentrations were not related to age, sex or BMI. People with traditional lifestyles, living in the cradle of mankind, have a mean circulating 25(OH)D concentration of 115 nmol/l. Whether this concentration is optimal under the conditions of the current Western lifestyle is uncertain, and should as a possible target be investigated with concomitant appreciation of other important factors in Ca homeostasis that we have changed since the agricultural revolution.
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ISSN:0007-1145
1475-2662
1475-2662
DOI:10.1017/S0007114511007161