Does the High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in African Americans Contribute to Health Disparities?
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review and mechanism-based reasoning with no systematic search methodology reported.
PubMed 33546262 · doi:10.3390/nu13020499
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature on the role of vitamin D deficiency in health disparities between African Americans and European Americans. It evaluated mechanisms involving skin melanin blocking UVB-dependent synthesis, latitude-related radiation levels, and the potential impact of vitamin D supplementation or fortification across multiple health conditions.
What was found
The abstract reports that African Americans have a 15- to 20-fold higher prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency compared to European Americans. The authors report that moderate-to-strong evidence indicates vitamin D sufficiency or supplementation reduces risks for all-cause mortality, adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, cancer, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, multiple sclerosis, acute respiratory tract infections, COVID-19, asthma exacerbations, rickets, and osteomalacia. No specific quantitative risk estimates or study counts are provided in the abstract. The authors suggest supplementation to raise 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels to 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) or higher.
Why it matters
It highlights vitamin D deficiency as a potential modifiable target for addressing racial health disparities in dark-skinned populations living at higher latitudes.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks a systematic literature search, standardized study selection, and risk-of-bias assessment. The abstract reports no quantitative effect estimates, sample sizes, or study numbers, and groups diverse clinical outcomes without distinguishing between observational associations and causal randomized trial data.
Cited by
- supports Individuals of African heritage traditionally have lower measured levels of vitamin D.