Dietary vitamin D2 – a potentially underestimated contributor to vitamin D nutritional status of adults?. Issue 2 (28th July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cashman, Kevin D.; Kinsella, Michael; McNulty, Breige A.; Walton, Janette; Gibney, Michael J.; Flynn, Albert; Kiely, Mairead
• Is Part Of: British journal of nutrition. Volume 112:Issue 2(2014)
• Page Start: 193
• Page End: 202
• Publication Date: 2014-07-28
• Subjects: Nutrition -- Periodicals; 572.4
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114514000725
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-1145

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal"> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>It has been suggested that vitamin D<sub>2</sub> is not very prevalent in the human food chain. However, data from a number of recent intervention studies suggest that the majority of subjects had measurable serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D<sub>2</sub> (25(OH)D<sub>2</sub>) concentrations. Serum 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub>, unlike 25(OH)D<sub>3</sub>, is not directly influenced by exposure of skin to sun and thus has dietary origins; however, quantifying dietary vitamin D<sub>2</sub> is difficult due to the limitations of food composition data. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterise serum 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub> concentrations in the participants of the National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS) in Ireland, and to use these serum concentrations to estimate the intake of vitamin D<sub>2</sub> using a mathematical modelling approach. Serum 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub> concentration was measured by a liquid chromatography–tandem MS method, and information on diet as well as subject characteristics was obtained from the NANS. Of these participants, 78·7 % (<italic>n</italic> 884) had serum 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub> concentrations above the limit of quantification, and the mean, maximum, 10th, 50th (median) and 90th percentile values of serum 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub> concentrations were 3·69, 27·6, 1·71, 2·96 and 6·36 nmol/l, respectively. To approximate the intake of vitamin D<sub>2</sub> from these serum 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub> concentrations, we used recently published data on the relationship between vitamin D intake and the responses of serum 25(OH)D concentrations. The projected 5th to 95th percentile intakes of vitamin D<sub>2</sub> for adults were in the range of 0·9–1·2 and 5–6 μg/d, respectively, and the median intake ranged from 1·7 to 2·3 μg/d. In conclusion, the present data demonstrate that 25(OH)D<sub>2</sub> concentrations are present in the sera of adults from this nationally representative sample. Vitamin D<sub>2</sub> may have an impact on nutritional adequacy at a population level and thus warrants further investigation.</p> </abstract>