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Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with elevated risks for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infections. Researchers examined U.S. population trends in vitamin D insufficiency by comparing data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys that were collected in 1988–1994 and 2001–2004.
Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels dropped from 30 ng/mL during 1988–1994 to 24 ng/mL during 2001–2004; these mean values are in the “relative insufficiency” range, as defined by some experts. Mean levels decreased in both sexes, across all ethnic groups, and across all age groups; the reduction was significantly greater among younger individuals than among older participants. One constant across both time periods was that nonwhites…