UK clinicians seek earlier action on vitamin D deficiency among young people

Vitamin D deficiency is becoming more common in some UK age groups, particularly girls and young women, the BBC reports. National Diet and Nutrition Survey data cited in its report classified nearly a quarter of 11- to 18-year-olds as deficient last year. Paediatric endocrinologist Dr Suma Uday said fatigue and joint or bone pain can be missed or misdiagnosed.

The report describes young women diagnosed after episodes that prompted medical attention, while noting that teacher Saskia Reeves-Priestley’s collapse symptoms were not directly linked to the deficiency. Uday and the ACT NOW Vitamin D group want a higher diagnostic threshold to identify more cases. University of Birmingham professor Martin Hewison separately urged the government to consider wider vitamin D food fortification.

Vitamin D deficiency can weaken bones, causing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Sunlight enables the body to make most of its vitamin D, but production falls with reduced exposure. The UK already allows voluntary fortification of some cereals and spreads; the report contrasts this with mandatory policies in Canada and Sweden.