One-third of Americans are at risk for vitamin D inadequacy or deficient in vitamin D, according to a new report from the CDC. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001-2008 on more than 24,000 people, the report said 24% of adults and children over age 1 were at risk of inadequacy. The CDC used levels for blood concentrations of vitamin D set last year by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in raising recommended intakes of the sunshine vitamin. The IOM defined at risk of inadequacy as 30-49 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L). Only 8% of Americans were actually deficient (less than 30 nmol/L) in vitamin D, according to the CDC report. Hispanics and blacks were significantly more likely to be deficient than non-Hispanic whites. From 1988-1994 to 2001-2002, the percentage of all Americans age 12 and older deficient in vitamin D jumped from 4% to 7% in males and from 7% to 11% in females. Neither deficiency nor risk of inadequacy increased in subsequent periods, however.
