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. 2016 Sep 23;8(10):592.
doi: 10.3390/nu8100592.

Seasonal Epidemiology of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations among Healthy Adults Living in Rural and Urban Areas in Mongolia

Sabri Bromage  1 , Janet W Rich-Edwards  2 , Daria Tselmen  3 , Ana Baylin  4 , Lisa A Houghton  5 , Nachin Baasanjav  6 , Davaasambuu Ganmaa  7
Affiliations

Seasonal Epidemiology of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations among Healthy Adults Living in Rural and Urban Areas in Mongolia

Sabri Bromage et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Many factors put Mongolians at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Despite low levels observed in Mongolian children and pregnant women, there are few data published on the vitamin D status of non-pregnant adults. Between summer 2011 and winter 2013, paired summer and winter blood samples were collected from 320 healthy men and women (20-58 years) living in eight Mongolian provinces. Mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations were 22.5 ng/mL (95% CI: 14.5, 32.5) in summer and 7.7 ng/mL (95% CI: 4.6, 10.8) in winter, with a distribution (<10/10-20/20-30/≥30 ng/mL) of 3.1%/39.3%/39.6%/17.9% in summer and 80.1%/19.5%/0.3%/0.0% in winter. Residents of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, had lower levels in both seasons than any other region, whereas residents of the Gobi desert had the highest. In summer, indoor workers had significantly lower levels than outdoor workers (-2.3 ng/mL; 95% CI: -4.1, -5.7) while levels in males exceeded those in females (4.0 ng/mL; 95% CI: 2.3, 5.7). Effects of region, occupation, and sex were also significant in multivariable regression. In conclusion, Mongolian adults had extremely low serum 25(OH)D, particularly in winter, when 80.1% had concentrations below 10 ng/mL. These results indicate a need for effective vitamin D interventions for the Mongolian adult population, particularly among women and residents of Ulaanbaatar.

Keywords: 25(OH)D; 25-hydroxyvitamin D; Mongolia; calciferol; food fortification; hypovitaminosis D; nutrient supplementation; nutritional epidemiology; sex differences; vitamin D deficiency.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean (standard deviation, SD) serum 25(OH)D concentration by season and region. Bars indicate mean measured 25(OH)D concentrations (ng/mL) in summer (red bars) and winter (blue bars) ± SDs, summer n = 318, winter n = 307. p values for regional differences are provided in Table S2.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean (SD) serum 25(OH)D concentration by season, occupation, and sex. Bars indicate mean measured 25(OH)D concentrations (ng/mL) in summer (red bars) and winter (blue bars) ± SDs, summer n = 318, winter n = 307. Summer: Indoor < Outdoor, Males > Females, Indoor, Females < Indoor, Males = Outdoor, Males = Outdoor, Females, p < 0.05. Winter: Indoor = Outdoor, Males = Females, Indoor, Males = Indoor, Females = Outdoor, Males = Outdoor, Females, p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of serum 25(OH)D concentration categories according to season, occupation, and sex subgroups (red: <10 ng/mL, orange: 10 to 20 ng/mL, gold: 20 to 30 ng/mL, green: >30 ng/mL).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prevalence of serum 25(OH)D concentration categories according to season, occupation, and sex subgroups (red: <10 ng/mL, orange: 10 to 20 ng/mL, gold: 20 to 30 ng/mL, green: >30 ng/mL).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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