The Importance of Monitoring Vitamin D Status in the U.S.

Thursday, August 19, 2010, at 9 a.m. (EDT) Vitamin D has become one of the most controversial nutrition issues of the day. While the vitamin’s role in preventing bone diseases such as osteoporosis is well documented, recent studies suggest that increased intake of vitamin D may also reduce the risk of various cancers, diabetes, and heart disease – a possibility that has many heralding it as a “miracle vitamin.” However, not only are these studies being called into question for their failure to show a direct cause and effect, but there is also evidence that excess intake of vitamin D can be toxic. As a result, the U.S. and Canadian governments have commissioned the Institute of Medicine to review the Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin D, a project that will be completed in the fall of 2010.

This session of Public Health Grand Rounds reviewed the latest evidence of vitamin D’s effectiveness and safety and discussed challenges in how to best measure and define vitamin D status.

Presented By

Clifford L. Johnson, MSPH, Director, Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC
Title: Monitoring the Nation’s Vitamin D Status: The NHANES Experience

Christine M. Pfeiffer, PhD, Chief, Nutritional Biomarkers Branch, Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
Title: Testing for Vitamin D Blood Levels: Challenges and Opportunities

Paul M. Coates, PhD, Director, Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health
Title: Vitamin D: How Research Informs Public Health

Facilitated By

Tanja Popovic, MD, PhD, Scientific Director, Public Health Grand Rounds
Shane Joiner, Communication Manager, Public Health Grand Rounds