Re: 1 In 5 Kids Lack Vitamin D, Study Says
I think this is very significant. Because ethnic background has been surpressed in the media, we rarely have any information about this aspect of the people dying from H1N1. However, if you remember the early photos of people in the US killed by H1N1 posted by Appleblossom (we miss you Appleblossom), there was a preponderance of Hispanic and African American faces.
I have also seen the occasional reference to the fact that these ethnic groups were being hit particularly hard. Genetically it makes sense as both ethnic groups were orginally from places with large amounts of sunshine and developed darkened skin color to protect from heavy exposure to sunshine. However, what was adaptive in sunny climates is not adaptive in areas with little sunshine as the darker skin pigmentation blocks the absorption of Vitamin D. The following article talks about ethnic differences although the study did not include Hispanics and those of African descent. Those of European ancestory (lighter skin) had higher levels of Vitamin D during winter.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/336
Low wintertime vitamin D levels in a sample of healthy young adults of diverse ancestry living in the Toronto area: associations with vitamin D intake and skin pigmentation
Though all ethnic groups need to increase their Vitamin D intake during the winter months, it is clearly far more important for Hispanic, African-American and other ethnic groups with darker skin pigmentation, especially those living in areas with lots of cloud cover in winter.
I do not know whether the lamps used for Seasonal Affective Disorder affect Vitamin D, but I would guess the answer is yes.
Previous threads have discussed the link between H1N1 and Vitamin D.
