Vitamin D has become the subject of more and more analysis over the past 40 years.
A research review entitled Vitamin D: An overview of vitamin D status and intake in Europe by A. Spire and J. L. Buttriss tracks mentions of the term “vitamin D” in peer reviewed papers from 1975 to 2013. They found that mentions of the term in titles and abstract skyrocketed from about 250 in 1975 to 1600 in 2007, and more than doubled again to 3774 in 2013.
A big reason for this fascination with vitamin D is that it’s important to skeletal health, and is essential for preventing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
But despite its importance, we typically don’t have enough of it and, depending on where you live, getting it can be tricky.
While there are dietary sources of vitamin D such as fish oil, beef liver, and egg yolks, we generally can’t consume enough of these to get the requisite amount of the vitamin (nor would it be good for us to try). Exposing bare skin to sunlight is the best way to get vitamin D, but fears about sun safety and skin cancer are prompting many people to cover up in the sun.
And then there’s the issue of latitude.
Researchers have found that at latitudes greater than 40°N in the northern hemisphere the sunlight isn’t strong enough from October to March to trigger vitamin D synthesis.
This means that in Europe—where many major cities sit well above this latitude—vitamin D deficiency is rampant. Approximately 70% of the European population suffers from vitamin D deficiency, which equates to roughly 150 million people.
Latitudes of major European cities
Source: Vitamin D: An overview of vitamin D status and intake in Europe, A Spire and J L Buttriss
In the past, these high numbers haven’t inspired a huge number of people to get tested for vitamin D deficiency. In 2011, only about 5% of Europeans were tested, leaving a large space for vitamin D testing in Europe.
But, as tends to happen when there’s a space in any market, vendors are swooping in to fill the gap. According to a new report from Technavio, the vitamin D testing market in Europe is expected to grow at a cumulative average growth rate of 5.5% from 2014-2019, to reach a value of $201.2 million.
On top of testing, various strategies have been suggested to help curb vitamin D deficiency in Europe. Everything from formulating policies around food fortification to encouraging increased sun exposure has been suggested.
An interesting exception to the European dearth of vitamin D is Finland. At just over 60°N, it is one of the most northern capitals on the continent. However Spiro and Buttriss indicate that Finnish people don’t display the same deficiencies are other Europeans.
“Survey data indicate that recent national policies that include fortification and supplementation, coupled with a high habitual intake of oil-rich fish, have resulted in an increase in vitamin D intakes.”
They go on to say that similar policies might not be effective elsewhere in Europe (possibly due to the reluctance of most Europeans to adopt the Nordic delicacy Surströmming into their diets).
For the moment, the majority of the European population will have to settle for testing and sunbathing to help increase vitamin D levels through the forecast period.
