PURPOSE: Up to 71% of South Korean postmenopausal women have vitamin D deficiency {serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] level <50 nmol/L}. Data on vitamin D supplementation was collected during the screening phase of an efficacy/safety study of denosumab in Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. This report describes the effect of vitamin D supplementation on repletion to 25(OH)D levels ≥50 nmol/L in Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Vitamin D levels of Korean postmenopausal women (60-90 years old) were measured by extracting 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 from serum samples via protein precipitation and using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. Calibration curves were constructed from the mass chromatograms to obtain total vitamin D levels. Subjects with serum 25(OH)D levels <50 nmol/L were supplemented with 1000 IU of vitamin D tablets during the 2.5-month-long screening period. Dose, frequency, and duration were determined by the investigator. If repletion was achieved (≥50 nmol/L) on retest, subjects were eligible to be rescreened for study entry. RESULTS: Of 371 subjects screened, 191 (52%) required vitamin D supplementation, and 88% (168 of 191) were successfully repleted. More than half of the subjects (58%) who were successfully repleted received doses of 2000 IU daily. The mean time to successful repletion was 31 days (standard deviation 8.4 days; range 11-48 days). CONCLUSION: Supplementation with daily median doses of 2000 IU vitamin D successfully repleted 88% of Korean postmenopausal women with osteoporosis within 48 days to a serum vitamin D level of 50 nmol/L.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bone Density Conservation Agents/*therapeutic use ; *Dietary Supplements ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/*complications/drug therapy/ethnology ; Postmenopause/blood ; Republic of Korea ; Vitamin D/analogs & derivatives/blood/*therapeutic use ; Vitamin D Deficiency/diagnosis/*drug therapy/ethnology

PURPOSE: Although interest in the role played by vitamin D in bone health is increasing, little is known about the role of this vitamin in musculoskeletal pain in children. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children presenting with nonspecific lower extremity pains. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2011 to 2012, 183 children underwent evaluation for nonspecific lower-extremity pains. Patients with valid causes, such as fractures or transient synovitis, were excluded, as were those with underlying medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy and metabolic disease. Ultimately, 140 patients met the inclusion criteria. Levels of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25-(OH)D], the ideal indicator of vitamin D status, were measured in these children. RESULTS: Eighty-seven boys (62.1%) and 53 girls (37.9%) were included. The mean age at presentation was 5.2 years (range, 2-15). Serum 25-(OH)D levels were <10 ng/mL in 5.7% of patients, 10 to <20 ng/mL in 51.4%, 20 to <30 ng/mL in 37.9%, and > or =30 ng/mL in only 5.0%. Most patients visited the hospital in the winter (41.4%) (summer, 12.9%), and serum 25-(OH)D levels were also lowest in the winter (17.2+/-5.5 ng/mL). CONCLUSION: This study found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency in Korean children with nonspecific lower-extremity pains, indicating a positive association between vitamin D deficiency and growing pains. More attention should be directed toward vitamin D and its role in the optimization of bone health.
Adolescent ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*statistics & numerical data ; Calcifediol/administration & dosage ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Musculoskeletal Pain/drug therapy/etiology ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons ; Vitamin D/*analogs & derivatives/blood ; Vitamin D Deficiency/blood/complications/*ethnology ; Vitamins/administration & dosage

OBJECTIVETo study the association between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene Apa I polymorphism and vitamin D deficiency rickets in children of Shanxi Han ethnic group, and to explore the significance of individual hereditary factors in the development of rickets.

METHODSThis was a case control study. The grouping criteria were serum 25(OH)D(3) level, blood bone alkaline phosphatase and clinical symptom, respectively. The laboratory test methods were enzyme linked immunoassay and radioimmunoassay. PCR-RFLP technology was applied to examine VDR gene Apa I site polymorphism and Hardy-Weinberg hereditary balance test was used to examine the coincidence of gene distribution.

RESULTSFrequencies of AA, Aa and aa genotypes were 5.0%, 52.5% and 42.5% in the rickets group and 4.4%, 55.9% and 39.7% in the control group, respectively. Frequencies of A and a genotypes were 31.3% and 68.7% in the rickets group and 32.3% and 67.7% in the control group, respectively. There was not significant difference in the frequency distribution of VDR genotype and allelic genes between two groups (chi(2) = 0.089, P > 0.05; chi(2) = 0.028, P > 0.05). There was significant difference in the serum 25(OH)D(3) between two groups (t = -8.919, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe distribution of VDR gene Apa I polymorphism in children of Han ethnic group is balanced relatively. The Frequency of a allelic genes is 67.7% which is therefore the superior gene. VDR gene polymorphism might not be important in an individual's susceptibility to development of vitamin D deficiency.

Calcifediol ; blood ; Calcitriol ; deficiency ; Case-Control Studies ; Child, Preschool ; China ; ethnology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Radioimmunoassay ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; genetics ; Rickets ; blood ; etiology ; genetics ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; complications ; genetics