Prescribing vitamin D for health

As we experience the winter season in Australia, awareness of the risk for vitamin D deficiency is essential. With approximately 23% of the Australian population deemed deficient in vitamin D, Australians experience considerable seasonal variation in vitamin D status, ranging from 14 percent deficient in summer and 36 percent deficient in winter.¹

Learnings from a 2020 UK study published in Clinical Nutrition reviewing the vitamin D status in a representative sample from the UK can inform our understanding of the differences and determinants of vitamin D deficiency – particularly in relation to ethnicity and socioeconomics.² With greater understanding of the determinants of vitamin D deficiency, practitioners can support Australians to maintain adequate vitamin D status throughout the year, minimising the risk of deficiency and poor health.