WHAT S A VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY? OVERVIEW, ACTIONS Robert P. Heaney, M.D. Creighton University Osteoporosis Research Center
DISCLOSURES Robert P. Heaney, M.D. no personal financial relationships to disclose 2
OBJECTIVES define nutrient deficiency cite evidence relating to sufficiency of vitamin D estimate vitamin D inputs needed to sustain sufficiency estimate prevalence of deficiency characterize the effects of universal vitamin D supplementation define the safe upper intake of vitamin D 3
Working definition: a deficiency is any condition in which inadequate intake of a nutrient results in significant dysfunction or disease conversely, nutrient adequacy is the situation in which further increases in intake produce no further reduction in dysfunction or disease
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Nutrient Deficiency Index Mechanism Short Latency Disease 5
In the early days of nutrition as a science, short latency of the disease/dysfunction was necessary in order to recognize the connection between cause and effect.
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Vitamin D Deficiency Malabsorption of Ca & P Rickets Osteomalacia 7
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Nutrient Deficiency Index mechanism Short latency disease Long latency disease 8
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Vitamin D Deficiency Malabsorption of Ca & P Rickets Osteomalacia Osteoporosis 9
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Nutrient Deficiency Index mechanism Non-Index mechanisms Short latency disease Long latency disease Long latency disease Short latency disease 10
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Vit D Deficiency Malabsorption Ca & P Genomic Signaling Rickets Osteomalacia Osteoporosis Hypertension Immune Falls disorders Periodontitis Diabetes Cancer 11
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Nutrient Deficiency Index mechanism Non-Index mechanism Short latency disease is often not enough the input needed to nor to prevent to prevent this these one prevent this outcome Short latency disease Long latency disease Long latency disease 12
RETHINKING DEFICIENCY DISEASE Nutrient Deficiency Index mechanism Non-Index mechanism Short latency disease Long latency disease Nevertheless, the input needed to prevent this Short latency outcome serves as the disease principal basis for current intake recommendations Long latency disease 13
more useful What is the right endpoint?
What is the operative model for nutrition?
WHAT IS THE OPERATIVE MODEL? for the media? for regulators? for nutritional policy makers? for nutritional physiologists? 16
WHAT IS THE OPERATIVE MODEL? for the media and for regulators nutrition is about killing yourself with a fork it s about avoiding risks it s about warnings & cautions 17
For a package of macaroni & cheese http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html
Limit these nutrients Get enough of these nutrients
MEDIA REPORTING the overwhelming majority of media reports about nutrition emphasizes harm and risk while the explanation is partly that harm is more newsworthy than benefit (and the media battens on controversy) still the impression unwittingly conveyed to the general public is one of concern and danger 20
WHAT IS THE OPERATIVE MODEL? for nutritional policy makers nutrition is about determining the least one can get by on without suffering overt disease of a specific type (once called MDRs) 21
WHAT IS THE OPERATIVE MODEL? for nutritional physiologists adult nutrition is about preventive maintenance of tissues and organs it s about keeping them from wearing out or breaking down prematurely its referent is the intake that prevailed when human physiology evolved 22
THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE MODEL foundational premises: all tissues need all nutrients shortages impair the functioning of all body systems premature organ/system wearing out, as a consequence of nutrient deficiency, will vary from person to person, depending on variable genetic composition; and therefore, expression of nutrient deficiency will usually be pluriform both between and within individuals 23
THE INTAKE REFERENT it is sometimes argued that primitive intakes may be ill-suited to modern conditions but lacking specific evidence to that effect, the presumption ought to tip toward the primitive intake what is the justification for privileging the status quo? the burden of proof should fall on those who claim that primitive intakes are unsafe or that lower intakes are adequate 24
THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE MODEL also recognizes that: the organism will work perfectly well without maintenance for a while... it thus reconciles the seeming paradox that an organism can be deficient without being clinically sick for a while... it s also about squaring the morbidity/ mortality curve 25
THEORETICAL MORTALITY RVE 0 20 40 60 80 100 AGE (yrs)
THEORETICAL MORTALITY RVE 100 80 SURVIVAL (%) 60 40 20 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 AGE (yrs)
SQUARING THE MORTALITY RVE 100 Percent alive/well 80 Optimal nutrition has the potential to contribute to 60 this improvement 40 20 Certainly, NCEP and DGA The role of vitamin D in take this for granted this reduction is the topic of this conference 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Age (yrs)
ASSESSING VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY serum total 25(OH)D is the: q functional indicator for vit D status q the major storage form of vit D at typical inputs serum 25(OH)D 2 is of no value unless the MD is following treatment with vit D 2 serum 1,25(OH) 2 D does not measure vit D status (instead, it measures Ca need) 29
A VITAMIN D THRESHOLD 0.5 ABSORPTION FRACTION 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 SERUM 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 30
A VITAMIN D THRESHOLD 0.5 physiological 0.4 regulation no longer limited by vit D 0.3 availability ABSORPTION FRACTION 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 SERUM 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 31
A VITAMIN D THRESHOLD 0.5 ABSORPTION FRACTION 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 SERUM 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 32
The evidence to be presented in all the papers that follow points to a requirement for serum 25(OH)D that is above 80 nmol/l* (and perhaps as much as 100-125 nmol/l**). * 32 ng/ml ** 40 50 ng/ml
THE 25(OH)D CONTINUUM deficiency insufficiency? normal 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 (nmol/l) 34
THE 25(OH)D CONTINUUM deficiency insufficiency normal 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 (nmol/l) 35
THE 25(OH)D CONTINUUM deficiency normal 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 (nmol/l) 36
25(OH)D & SERUM ipth* 290 consecutive pts. on a general medical ward MGH SERUM PTH (pg/ml) 120 100 80 60 40 22% 57% >85% 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 SERUM 25(OH)D (nmol/l) *after Thomas et al., 1998 NEJM;338:777 783 37
PREVALENCE IN HIP FRACTURE 223 new hip fractures SE Finland (61º N) 50% below 37.5 nmol/l 33% late summer 67% late winter 20 Nurmi et al., OI (2005) 16:2018 2024 0 Percent Less Than 100 80 60 40 < 20 nmol/l <37.5 nmol/l < 74 nmol/l 38
PREVALENCE IN THE OLD ELDERLY 104 N. Italian centenarians mean age: 98 yrs 90 females; 14 males mean 25(OH)D: 16 nmol/l 99/104 unmeasurable maximum: 21 nmol/l 14 hip fractures since age 94 39
25(OH)D IN OLDER WOMEN* 1168 women aged 55 & older latitude 41º N 25(OH)D values adjusted for season median vit D supplement dose = 200 IU Frequency 100 80 60 40 20 0 62% *Lappe et al., JACN 2006 0 40 80 120 160 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 40
NHANES III 0.025 women aged 60 79 summer, northern states Looker et al., (2002) Bone 30:771 77 RELATIVE FREQUENCY 0.020 0.015 0.010 0.005 77% 10% 0.000 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 41
What would this distribution look like if the entire population were to be supplemented with vitamin D? say, with 2000 IU/d?
NHANES III* + THE TUIL 0.025 RELATIVE FREQUENCY 0.020 0.015 0.010 0.005 0.000 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 25(OH)D (nmol/l) *Looker et al., (2002) Bone 30:771 77 43
NHANES III* + THE TUIL 2000 IU/d raises 25(OH)D by ~ 35 nmol/l 15% of older women are still below 80 nmol/l effectively no one would be pushed above 180 nmol/l RELATIVE FREQUENCY 0.025 0.020 0.015 0.010 0.005 0.000 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 25(OH)D (nmol/l) *Looker et al., (2002) Bone 30:771 77 44
NHANES III* + 2600 IU/D 2600 IU/d would raise 25OHD by ~ 46 nmol/l ~2.5 % of population still below 80 nmol/l thus 2600 IU/d @ the RDA for women >60 yrs but, that s over & above all current inputs RELATIVE FREQUENCY 0.025 0.020 0.015 0.010 0.005 0.000 0 50 100 150 200 25(OH)D (nmol/l) *Looker et al., (2002) Bone 30:771 77 45
NHANES III* + 2600 IU/D what about those already 2 SD above the mean? the rise with an extra ~2600 IU/d would be predicted to bring them to no more than 180 nmol/l well below the toxic range RELATIVE FREQUENCY 0.025 0.020 0.015 0.010 0.005 0.000 0 50 100 150 200 25(OH)D (nmol/l) *Looker et al., (2002) Bone 30:771 77 46
Safety
VITAMIN D INTAKE & TOXICITY* Serum 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 1,800 1,600 no toxicity below 30,000 IU/d 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 no toxicity below 500 nmol/l (200 ng/ml) 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 Vitamin D Intake (IU/day) 15 studies of adults receiving vitamin D supplementation (means) 8 studies reporting toxicity (individual values) * Hathcock JN et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85:6 18.
TUIL: 10,000 IU/d* *Hathcock et al.,(2007) AJCN 85:6 18
A RULE OF THUMB serum 25(OH)D rises by ~ 1 ng/ml (2.5 nmol/l) for every 100 additional IU/d of vitamin D 3 hence: to raise a patient level from 15 to 30 ng/ml will typically require an additional input of 1500 IU/d however there is huge variability around this average
25(OH)D RESPONSE TO LARGE DOSES* 100,000 IU D 3, by mouth, once Serum 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 110 100 90 80 70 60 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Time (days) *Ilahi, Armas, & Heaney (in press)
VARIABILITY OF 25(OH)D RESPONSE* D 25(OH)D to C max ranged from +12 nmol/l to +76 nmol/l ~half of the variability due to body size Increment to Cmax (nmol/l) 80 60 40 20 0 Baseline Cmax *Ilahi, Armas, & Heaney (AJCN 2008)
VARIABILITY OF 25(OH)D RESPONSE* 80 Wt-adjusted D 25(OH)D to C max ranged from +20 nmol/l to +66 nmol/l Wt-Adj Incr to Cmax (nmol/l) 60 40 20 0 Baseline Cmax *Ilahi, Armas, & Heaney (in press)
D 2 vs. D 3 * 25 single oral dose 50,000 IU D 2 or D 3 n = 10 in each group D 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 20 15 10 5 0 D 3-5 D 2-10 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 TIME (days) *Armas et al., 2004
D 2 vs. D 3 * AUC 25 AUC 28 600 500 400 300 200 D2 D3 D 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 20 15 10 5 0 D 3 100-5 D 2 0-10 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 TIME (days) *Armas et al., 2004
CONCLUSIONS serum 25(OH)D levels below 80 nmol/l are not adequate for any body system levels of as high as 120 nmol/l may be closer to optimal inputs from all sources combined (needed to sustain 80 nmol/l) are in the range of ~4,000 IU/d and higher in most healthy adults, 2000 IU/d, in addition to all other inputs, will usually suffice 56
OBJECTIVES define nutrient deficiency disease or dysfunction due to low intake Ca absorptive regulation suboptimal below 80 nmol/l cite evidence relating to sufficiency of vitamin D 4000 IU/d all estimate vitamin D inputs needed sourcesto sustain sufficiency estimate prevalence of deficiency 65 95 % no toxicity characterize the effects of universal vitamin D supplementation 10,000 IU/d define the safe upper intake of vitamin D 57
Thank you
OBJECTIVES list 10+ vitamin D sensitive diseases quantify benefits of solving D deficiency define the dose-response relationship for osteoporosis, falls, type I diabetes, & cancer interpret 25(OH)D values for diagnosis & treatment identify & quantify risk categories for vit D treatment 59