Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jan;93(1):40-6.
doi: 10.1210/jc.2007-1217. Epub 2007 Nov 6.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and bone mineral density in a racially and ethnically diverse group of men

Marian T Hannan  1 , Heather J Litman, Andre B Araujo, Christine E McLennan, Robert R McLean, John B McKinlay, Tai C Chen, Michael F Holick
Affiliations

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and bone mineral density in a racially and ethnically diverse group of men

Marian T Hannan et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jan.

Abstract

Context: Although racial and ethnic differences in vitamin D status and bone mineral density (BMD) are recognized, less is known about how differences in vitamin D status impact BMD, especially among men.

Objective: Our objective was to examine the relation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and BMD by race and ethnic group.

Design: We conducted a population-based, observational survey.

Participants: PARTICIPANTS included 1114 Black, Hispanic, and White men, 30-79 yr of age.

Outcomes: We assessed 25(OH)D by a competitive protein binding assay and BMD by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

Results: Mean age +/- SD of the 331 Black, 362 Hispanic, and 421 White men was 48 +/- 12.8 yr. Mean 25(OH)D was lower among Black (25.0 +/- 14.7 ng/ml) and Hispanic (32.9 +/- 13.9 ng/ml) men compared with White men (37.4 +/- 14.0 ng/ml, P < 0.01). A higher percentage of both Black (44%) and Hispanic (23%) men had levels of 25(OH)D in the lowest quartile, compared with 11% of White men (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, height, and weight, only White men showed significant positive correlation between 25(OH)D and BMD (range of correlations, 0.00-0.14). Serum 25(OH)D was not associated with BMD in Black or Hispanic men at any bone site. Results were similar when adjusted for age only.

Conclusions: Our findings confirm substantial racial and ethnic group differences in BMD and serum 25(OH)D in men. Serum 25(OH)D and BMD are significantly related to one another in White men only. This may have implications for evaluation of bone health and supplementation in men with low levels of 25(OH)D. Further understanding of the biological mechanisms for these differences between race and ethnic groups is needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Serum PTH (pg/ml) as a function of serum 25(OH)D by race/ethnic group, natural log scale. Fitted lines are generated using LOESS (smoothing parameter = 0.75) (BACH/Bone 2002–2005).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Site-specific BMD (g/cm2) as a function of serum 25(OH)D by race/ethnic group, natural log scale: (A) femoral neck; (B) total hip; (C) lumbar spine; (D) distal radius. Fitted lines are generated using LOESS (smoothing parameter = 0.5) (BACH/Bone 2002–2005).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Holick MF 2004 Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr 80:1678S–1688S - PubMed
    1. DeLuca HF 1988 The vitamin D story: a collaborative effort of basic science and clinical medicine. FASEB J 2:224–236 - PubMed
    1. Chapuy MC, Arlot ME, Duboeuf F, Brun J, Crouzet B, Arnaud S, Delmas PD, Meunier PJ 1992 Vitamin D3 and calcium to prevent hip fractures in the elderly women. N Engl J Med 327:1637–1642 - PubMed
    1. Dawson-Hughes B, Harris SS, Krall EA, Dallal GE, Falconer G, Green CL 1995 Rates of bone loss in postmenopausal women randomly assigned to one of two dosages of vitamin D. Am J Clin Nutr 61:1140–1145 - PubMed
    1. Rodriguez-Martinez MA, Garcia-Cohen EC 2002 Role of Ca2+ and vitamin D in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Pharmacol Ther 93:37–49 - PubMed

Publication types