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At Healthfully, we strive to deliver objective content that is accurate and up-to-date. Our team periodically reviews articles in order to ensure content quality. The sources cited below consist of evidence from peer-reviewed journals, prominent medical organizations, academic associations, and government data.
- Harvard Medical School: Vitamin D and Your Health: Breaking Old Rules, Raising New Hopes
- International Journal of Health Sciences: Vitamin D Deficiency - An Ignored Epidemic
- International Journal of Health Sciences: Vitamin D Deficiency - An Ignored Epidemic
- Mayo Clinic Preceedings: Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults: When to Test and How to Treat
- Mayo Clinic Preceedings: Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults: When to Test and How to Treat
- Harvard Medical School: Time for More Vitamin D
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D
The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a professional health care provider. Please check with the appropriate physician regarding health questions and concerns. Although we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, no guarantee to that effect is made.
What Causes Vitamin D Deficiency in Men?
Vitamin D deficiency is described as a global health problem in a 2010 article in the “International Journal of Health Sciences." Approximately 25 percent to 50 percent of patients seen in the clinical setting are deficient in vitamin D, according to a 2010 report in the journal "Mayo Clinic Proceedings"; and the risk of a man becoming deficient only increases with age 23. If left untreated, vitamin D deficiency can lead to weak bones, increased risk of fractures and osteoporosis. If you suspect you are at risk of a vitamin D deficiency, ask your doctor to check your blood levels.
Get in "D" Sun
The most common reason a man develops vitamin D deficiency is a lack of exposure to the sun. Fifty percent to 90 percent of your vitamin D is produced by sun exposure, with the remainder coming from your diet, according to the 2010 article in the “International Journal of Health Sciences.” Because very few foods contain vitamin D, it’s also difficult to meet vitamin D needs through the diet alone 2. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means proper absorption requires that the intestines are able to properly absorb fat. Because of this, men with malabsorption issues, such as:
- celiac disease
- Crohn’s disease
- ulcerative colitis
- are at an increased risk of developing vitamin D deficiency
- The most common reason a man develops vitamin D deficiency is a lack of exposure to the sun.
- Because very few foods contain vitamin D, it’s also difficult to meet vitamin D needs through the diet alone 2.
Related Articles
References
- Harvard Medical School: Vitamin D and Your Health: Breaking Old Rules, Raising New Hopes
- International Journal of Health Sciences: Vitamin D Deficiency - An Ignored Epidemic
- Mayo Clinic Preceedings: Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults: When to Test and How to Treat
- Harvard Medical School: Time for More Vitamin D
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D
- Institute of Medicine (US) Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium; Ross AC, Taylor CL, Yaktine AL, et al., editors. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011. 3, Overview of Vitamin D.
- Roy S, Sherman A, Monari-Sparks MJ, Schweiker O, Hunter K. Correction of low vitamin D improves fatigue: Effect of correction of low Vitamin D in fatigue study (EViDiF study). N Am J Med Sci. 2014 Aug;6(8):396-402. doi: 10.4103/1947-2714.139291
- Wong SK, Chin KY, Ima-Nirwana S. Vitamin D and Depression: The evidence from an indirect clue to treatment strategy. Curr Drug Targets. 2018;19(8):888-97. doi: 10.2174/1389450118666170913161030
- Nair R, Maseeh A. Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2012;3(2):118-26. doi:10.4103/0976-500X.95506
- Meena N, Singh Chawla SP, Garg R, Batta A, Kaur S. Assessment of vitamin D in rheumatoid arthritis and its correlation with disease activity. J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2018;9(1):54-58. doi:10.4103/jnsbm.JNSBM_128_17
- Fares A. Winter cardiovascular diseases phenomenon. N Am J Med Sci. 2013;5(4):266-79. doi:10.4103/1947-2714.110430
- Porojnicu AC, Dahlback A, Moan J. Sun exposure and cancer survival in Norway: changes in the risk of death with season of diagnosis and latitude. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2008;624:43-54. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-77574-6_4
- Holick MF et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jul;96(7):1911-30. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-0385
- Ross AC et al. The 2011 report on dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D from the Institute of Medicine: what clinicians need to know. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jan;96(1):53-8.
- Pilz et al. Vitamin D testing and treatment: a narrative review of current evidence. Endocr Connect. 2019 Feb 1;8(2):R27-R43. doi: 10.1530/EC-18-0432
- National Institutes of Health Offices of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin D fact sheet. Updated August 7, 2019.
Writer Bio
Lindsay Boyers has a Bachelor of Science in nutrition from Framingham State College and a certificate in holistic nutrition from the American College of Healthcare Sciences. She is also a licensed aesthetician with advanced training in skincare and makeup. She plans to continue on with her education, complete a master's degree program in nutrition and, ultimately, become a registered dietitian.