title: Nonclassical vitamin D action.
abstract: It is becoming increasingly clear that vitamin D has a broad range of actions in the human body. Besides its well-known effects on calcium/phosphate homeostasis, vitamin D influences muscle function, cardiovascular homeostasis, nervous function, and the immune response. Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency has been associated with muscle weakness and a high incidence of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 and 2 diabetes. Most importantly, low vitamin D status has been found to be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. Several recent randomized controlled trials support the assumption that vitamin D can improve muscle strength, glucose homeostasis, and cardiovascular risk markers. In addition, vitamin D may reduce cancer incidence and elevated blood pressure. Since the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is high throughout the world, there is a need to improve vitamin D status in the general adult population. However, the currently recommended daily vitamin D intake of 5-15 µg is too low to achieve an adequate vitamin D status in individuals with only modest skin synthesis. Thus, there is a need to recommend a vitamin D intake that is effective for achieving adequate circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (>75 nmol/L).
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia, Ruhr University Bochum, Georgstrasse 11, 32545 Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. azittermann@hdz-nrw.de
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zittermann
authors.forename: Jan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gummert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000150:complications; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000502:physiology; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D