Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Communication
  • Published:

Prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in five immigrant groups living in Oslo, Norway: the Oslo Immigrant Health Study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 59, pages 57–63 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: To study the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and to identify possible predictors of vitamin D deficiency in five main immigrant groups in Oslo.

Design: Cross-sectional, population-based.

Setting: City of Oslo.

Subjects: In total, 491 men and 509 women with native countries Turkey, Sri Lanka, Iran, Pakistan and Vietnam living in the county of Oslo.

Results: Median serum 25(OH)D level (s-25(OH)D) was 28 nmol/l, ranging from 21 nmol/l in women born in Pakistan to 40 nmol/l in men born in Vietnam. Overall prevalence of vitamin D deficiency defined as s-25(OH)D<25 nmol/l was 37.2%, ranging from 8.5% in men born in Vietnam to 64.9% in women born in Pakistan. s-25(OH)D did not vary significantly with age. s-25(OH)D was higher in blood samples drawn in June compared to samples obtained in April, but not significantly for women. Reported use of fatty fish and cod liver oil supplements showed a strong positive association with s-25(OH)D in all groups. Education length was positively associated with s-25(OH)D in women, whereas body mass index (BMI) was inversely associated with s-25(OH)D in women. These two variables were not related to vitamin D deficiency in men.

Conclusions: There is widespread vitamin D deficiency in both men and women born in Turkey, Sri Lanka, Iran, Pakistan and Vietnam residing in Oslo. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is higher in women than in men, and it is higher in those born in Pakistan and lower in those born in Vietnam compared to the other ethnic groups. Fatty fish intake and cod liver oil supplements are important determinant factors of vitamin D status in the groups studied. BMI and education length are also important predictors in women.

Sponsorship: Supported by the Directorate for Health and Social Affairs, Oslo, and Research Forum, Aker University Hospital, Oslo.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bell NH, Epstein S, Greene A, Shary J, Oexmann MJ & Shaw S (1985): Evidence for alteration of the vitamin D–endocrine system in obese subjects. J. Clin. Invest. 76, 370–373.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brunvand L & Brunvatne R (2001): Helseproblemer blant innvandrerbarn i Norge. Tidsskr. Nor. Lægeforen. 121, 715–718.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brunvand L & Haug E (1993): Vitamin D deficiency amongst Pakistani women in Oslo. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. 72, 264–268.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brunvand L, Henriksen C & Haug E (1996): Vitamin D mangel blant gravide fra Pakistan. Hvordan best forebygge? Tidsskr. Nor. Lægeforen. 116, 1585–1587.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brunvand L & Nordshus T (1996): Alimentær rakitt. En gammel sykdom med ny aktualitet. Nord. Med. 111, 219–221.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brustad M, Sandanger T, Wilsgaard T, Aksnes L & Lund E (2003): Change in plasma levels of vitamin D after consumption of cod-liver and fresh cod-liver oil as part of the traditional north Norwegian fish dish ‘Mølje’. Int. J. Circumpolar Health 62, 40–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Datta S, Alfaham M, Davies DP, Dunstan F, Woodhead S, Evans J & Richards B (2002): Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women from a non-European ethnic minority population—an interventional study. Br. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 109, 905–908.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies PS, Bates CJ, Cole TJ, Prentice A & Clarke PC (1999): Vitamin D: seasonal and regional differences in preschool children in Great Britain. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 53, 195–198.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dawodu A, Absood G, Patel M, Agarwal M, Ezimokhai M, Abdulrazzaq Y & Khalayli G (1998): Biosocial factors affecting vitamin D status of women of childbearing age in the United Arab Emirates. J. Biosoc. Sci. 30, 431–437.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeLucia MC, Mitnick ME & Carpenter TO (2003): Nutritional rickets with normal circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D: a call for reexamining the role of dietary calcium intake in North American infants. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 88, 3539–3545.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Falch JA & Steihaug S (2000): Vitamin D deficiency in Pakistani premenopausal women living in Norway is not associated with evidence of reduced skeletal strength. Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. 60, 103–109.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Glerup H, Mikkelsen K, Poulsen L, Hass E, Overbeck S, Thomsen J, Charles P & Eriksen EF (2000): Commonly recommended daily intake of vitamin D is not sufficient if sunlight exposure is limited. J. Intern. Med. 247, 260–268.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hamson C, Goh L, Sheldon P & Samanta A (2003): Comparative study of bone mineral density, calcium, and vitamin D status in the Gujarati and white populations of Leicester. Postgrad. Med. J. 79, 279–283.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen C, Brunvand L, Stoltenberg C, Trygg K, Haug E & Pedersen JI (1995): Diet and vitamin D status among pregnant Pakistani women in Oslo. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 49, 211–218.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holick MF (1995): Environmental factors that influence the cutaneous production of vitamin D. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 61, 638S–645S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holick MF (2003): Vitamin D: a millenium perspective. J. Cell. Biochem. 88, 296–307.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal SJ, Featherstone S, Kaddam IM, Mortimer J & Manning D (2001): Family screening is effective in picking up undiagnosed Asian vitamin D deficient subjects. J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 14, 371–376.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Isaia G, Giorgino R, Rini GB, Bevilacqua M, Maugeri D & Adami S (2003): Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in elderly women in Italy: clinical consequences and risk factors. Osteoporos. Int. 14, 577–582.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jacques PF, Felson DT, Tucker KL, Mahnken B, Wilson PW, Rosenberg IH & Rush D (1997): Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and its determinants in an elderly population sample. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 66, 929–936.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lips P (2001): Vitamin D deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism in the elderly: consequences for bone loss and fractures and therapeutic implications. Endocr. Rev. 22, 477–501.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer HE, Falch JA, Søgaard AJ & Haug E (2004): Vitamin D deficiency & secondary hyperparathyroidism and the association with bone mineral density in persons with Pakistani and Norwegian background living in Oslo, Norway. The Oslo Health Study. Bone 35, 412–417.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen P, Michaelsen KF & Molgaard C (2003): Children with nutritional rickets referred to hospitals in Copenhagen during a 10-year period. Acta Paediatr. 92, 87–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Semba RD, Garrett E, Johnson BA, Guralnik JM & Fried LP (2000): Vitamin D deficiency among older women with and without disability. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 72, 1529–1534.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Serhan E, Newton P, Ali HA, Walford S & Singh BM (1999): Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in Indo-Asian patients attending a rheumatology clinic. Bone 25, 609–611.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw NJ & Pal BR (2002): Vitamin D deficiency in UK Asian families: activating a new concern. Arch. Dis. Child. 86, 147–149.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Norway (2003): Innvandring og innvandrere 2003. Statistics Norway website. www.ssb.no.

  • Søgaard AJ, Selmer R, Bjertness E & Thelle D (2004): The Oslo Health Study: The impact of self-selection in a large population-based survey. Int. J. Equity Health 3, 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson RJ, Llewelyn M, Toossi Z, Patel P, Pasvol G, Lalvani A, Wright D, Latif M & Davidson RN (2000): Influence of vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D receptor polymorphisms on tuberculosis among Gujarati Asians in west London: a case–control study. Lancet 355, 618–621.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wortsman J, Matsuoka LY, Chen TC, Lu Z & Holick MF (2000): Decreased bioavailability of vitamin D in obesity. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 72, 690–693.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The data collection was conducted as part of the Oslo Immigrant Health Study carried out in 2002 as a collaboration between the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the University of Oslo.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway

    K Holvik & H E Meyer

  2. Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    K Holvik & H E Meyer

  3. Hormone Laboratory, Aker University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    E Haug

  4. Department of Paediatrics, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    L Brunvand

Authors
  1. K Holvik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H E Meyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E Haug
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L Brunvand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K Holvik.

Additional information

Guarantor: K Holvik.

Contributors: KH performed the data analysis and prepared the manuscript with HM, who was also a responsible organizer of the Oslo Immigrant Health Study. EH was responsible for the blood sample analyses. LB initiated the vitamin D substudy, and contributed to the design of the paper. All coauthors have critically revised and approved the manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Holvik, K., Meyer, H., Haug, E. et al. Prevalence and predictors of vitamin D deficiency in five immigrant groups living in Oslo, Norway: the Oslo Immigrant Health Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 57–63 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602033

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602033

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links