Vitamin D status among the elderly Chinese population: A cross-sectional analysis of the 2010-2013 China national nutrition and health survey (CNNHS)

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D inadequacy is common among the elderly, especially within the Asian population. The Vitamin D status among healthy adults in the elderly Chinese population was evaluated. Methods: A total of 6014 healthy adults aged 60 years or older (2948 men, 3066 women) participated in this descriptive cross-sectional analysis. Possible predictors of Vitamin D inadequacy were evaluated via multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The median serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D (25(OH)D) levels were 61.0 nmol/l (interquartile range (IQR) 44.3-80.6, range 5.1-154.5) for men and 53.7 nmol/l (IQR 38.8-71.0, range 6.0-190.0) for women, with 34.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 32.4-35.8) of men and 44.0% (95% CI 42.2-45.8) of women presenting Vitamin D inadequacy (25(OH)D <50 nmol/l). According to the multivariate logistic regression analyses, Vitamin D inadequacy was positively correlated with female gender (P <0.0001), underweight (P = 0.0259), the spring season (P <0.0001), low ambient UVB levels (P <0.0001) and living in large cities (P = 0.0026). For men, Vitamin D inadequacy was positively correlated with the spring season (P = 0.0015), low ambient UVB levels (P <0.0001) and living in large cities (P = 0.0022); for women, Vitamin D inadequacy was positively correlated with the spring season (P = 0.0005) and low ambient UVB levels (P