Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among healthy adolescents.

Background: Although vitamin D deficiency has been documented as a frequent problem in studies of young adults, elderly persons, and children in other countries, there are limited data on the prevalence of this nutritional deficiency among healthy US teenagers.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in healthy adolescents presenting for primary care.

Methods: A cross-sectional clinic-based sample. Methods: An urban hospital in Boston. Methods: Three hundred seven adolescents recruited at an annual physical examination to undergo a blood test and nutritional and activity assessments. Methods: Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and parathyroid hormone, anthropometric data, nutritional intake, and weekly physical activity and lifestyle variables that were potential risk factors for hypovitaminosis D.

Results: Seventy-four patients (24.1%) were vitamin D deficient (serum 25OHD level,

Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was present in many US adolescents in this urban clinic-based sample. The prevalence was highest in African American teenagers and during winter, although the problem seems to be common across sex, season, and ethnicity.