Women not aware of vitamin D importance

Many women lack an overall understanding of the importance of vitamin D to bone health, according to a new national survey released this week by the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR).

In the survey of nearly 500 women over 50, 20 percent of whom were being treated for osteoporosis or osteopenia, less than half (46 percent) felt vitamin D was ‘extremely important’ for maintaining bone health, whereas almost three-quarters (72 percent) felt that way about calcium. One in six women (16 percent) thought vitamin D was only ‘somewhat important’ or ‘not important at all’ for bone health.

In addition, more than half of the women surveyed (58 percent) reported they have not discussed the importance of vitamin D with their physician.

Vitamin D, an essential component of bone health, helps ensure that the body absorbs and retains calcium. Vitamin D insufficiency can be associated with reduced calcium absorption, bone loss and increased risk of fracture.

‘Despite calcium and vitamin D both being essential to bone health, these survey results uncover a discrepancy in the relative importance women assign to these two nutrients,’ said Jo Parrish, vice president for communications at SWHR.

‘Vitamin D is just as important for your bones as calcium because without adequate vitamin D intake, your bones are not getting the full benefits of calcium, which can lead to poor bone health.’

According to the National Institutes of Health, less than 10 percent of calcium may be absorbed in individuals who are deficient in Vitamin D.

Of the women surveyed, the vast majority (82 percent) believed they get enough vitamin D. However, other recent study findings show that more than half of postmenopausal women taking medication to prevent or treat osteoporosis have inadequate levels of vitamin D. The survey results also showed that some incorrectly identified the foods that are good sources of vitamin D.

The most frequently mentioned foods that were incorrectly identified by survey respondents as good sources for vitamin D were:

• Green leafy vegetables, which were incorrectly identified as good sources of vitamin D by 76 percent of survey participants, and


• Citrus fruits, which were incorrectly identified by nearly half (48 percent) of survey participants as a good source of vitamin D.

In fact, the foods that have been identified by nutritionists as actually providing good dietary sources for vitamin D include oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel), egg yolks, fortified milk and fortified orange juice. Moreover, in addition to these foods, vitamin D can be obtained through supplementation and through the skin after direct exposure to sunlight, but as adults age the ability to make vitamin D through skin decreases.

‘Vitamin D inadequacy is an unmet medical need in postmenopausal women,’ said Dr. Felicia Cosman, clinical director of the National Osteoporosis Foundation and associate professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University.

‘More needs to be done to educate postmenopausal women about the importance of vitamin D to their bone health. These survey results should serve as a wake up call for women over 50 to talk to their doctor about the importance of vitamin D as it relates to overall bone health due to the impact of vitamin D insufficiency on calcium absorption, bone loss and fracture risk.’

Survey results revealed that two-thirds (66 percent) of women not currently being treated with a prescription for osteoporosis or osteopenia would be more likely to take an osteoporosis medication with added vitamin D than one without vitamin D if their doctor recommended it.

For more information, please see this story:
To ‘D’ Or Not To ‘D’.

Source: The Society for Women’s Health Researh.