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Posted on Oct 10, 2002, 5 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Dr. Joel Finkelstein of Harvard Medical School and colleagues found that 57% of 290 patient admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital were low in vitamin D. Not only were persons either housebound or over age 65 experiencing the deficiency, but 42% of the 77 healthy, non-elderly people with an average age of 44 were likewise affected.
Dr. Joel Finkelstein of Harvard Medical School and colleagues found that 57% of 290 patient admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital were low in vitamin D. Not only were persons either housebound or over age 65 experiencing the deficiency, but 42% of the 77 healthy, non-elderly people with an average age of 44 were likewise affected. The study raises the possibility that recommended intakes of vitamin D are too low -- the government's RDA for vitamin D was just raised in 1999.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: New England Journal of Medicine, March 19, 2000
