title: Vitamin D deficiency amongst minority ethnic groups in the UK: a cross sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vitamin D deficiency is common amongst minority groups in Britain but its magnitude amongst South Asian (SA) and Black African-Caribbean (AC) groups is not well defined. The steroidal, endocrine nature of vitamin D provides it with a putative link with cardiovascular disease (CVD), and we hypothesised that aberrant levels of this hormone would reflect a heightened risk of CVD in these ethnic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  SA (n=1105, 57% male) and AC (n=748, 51% male) were recruited as part of a community heart failure study from 20 primary care practices, Birmingham, UK. Vitamin D2/D3 levels were measured to determine rates of total vitamin D status, which were age/sex adjusted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of SAs had severe vitamin D deficiency (42.2%, 95% CI: 39.2-45.1), which was more frequent than in AC (12.5%, 10.2-14.9, p<0.001. Vitamin status in SA and AC was unrelated to the presence of osteoporosis, and on multivariate analysis of SA, vitamin D levels were independently associated with age (β=0.18, p<0.001), haemoglobin (β=0.12, p=0.002), and negatively with alkaline phosphatase (a marker of bone mineralisation, β=-0.11, p=0.022). Amongst AC, vitamin D was independently associated with having ever smoked (β=-0.13, p=0.006) and systolic blood pressure (β=0.10, p=0.038).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vitamin D deficiency is a frequent biochemical observation amongst minority groups in Britain but the clinical significance is unclear, and ethnically specific. A proportionate susceptibility to bone disease is not apparent in either minority group.
authors.affiliation: Sandwell Medical Research Unit, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, West Bromwich B71 4HJ, UK.
authors.forename: Jeetesh V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chackathayil
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: Gregory Y H
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Lip
authors.forename: Paramjit S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Gill
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology*; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology*; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000208:ethnology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000208:ethnology; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Ethnicity; Vitamin D