Today's Date: March 29, 2024
Anaergia Announces Delay in the Filing of Its Audited Financial Statements and Related Disclosures   •   Fosun Management on 2023 Annual Results: Focusing on Core Industries with Established Advantages   •   AMIGOS FOR KIDS LAUNCHES "THE MISSING REVIEW"   •   Chosgo K23: One of the Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids for Seniors   •   National University Receives 2024 Military Friendly® Gold Designation   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   Anaergia Announces Escrow Closing of Second Tranche of the Strategic Investment   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   Naropa University Launches Pioneering Psychedelic Minor     •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   e.l.f. Cosmetics Debuts TikTok Shop Super Brand Day   •   Midea Group releases its first-ever ESG brand story with an unexpected VIP visit highlighting its commitment to sustainability.   •   Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts   •   Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   Charity Navigator Launches Women's Advocacy List for Women's History Month   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   Syngenta Group reports $32.2 billion sales and $4.6 billion EBITDA in 2023
Bookmark and Share

Teen Vitamin D Deficiency Finds Prevalence Highest Among African-Americans

Contact:
Lezlie Greenberg
(212) 821-0560
leg2003@med.cornell.edu


    
1 in 7 U.S. Teens Is Vitamin D Deficient

Weill Cornell Medical College Study Finds Prevalence Highest Among African-Americans


NEW YORK (March 11, 2009) -- One in seven American adolescents is vitamin D deficient, according to a new study by researchers in the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College. The findings are published in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics and were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting in May 2008.
        
In children, vitamin D deficiency can interfere with bone mineralization, leading to rickets. In adults, it is linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, immune dysfunction and hypertension.
        
The study employs a new definition of vitamin D deficiency recommended by a group of scientists attending the 13th Workshop Consensus for Vitamin D Nutritional Guidelines in 2007. These experts collectively proposed that the minimum acceptable serum vitamin D level be raised from 11 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) to at least 20 ng/mL.
        
Using the newer criteria, the study finds more than half of African-American teens are vitamin D deficient. Girls had more than twice the risk of deficiency compared with boys. And overweight teens had nearly double the risk of their normal-weight counterparts.
        
"These are alarming findings. We need to do a better job of educating the public on the importance of vitamin D, and the best ways to get it. To meet minimum nutritional requirements teens would need to consume at least four glasses of fortified milk daily or its dietary equivalent. Other foods rich in vitamin D include salmon, tuna, eggs and fortified cereals. A vitamin supplement containing 400 IU of vitamin D is another alternative," says Dr. Sandy Saintonge, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics and assistant professor of clinical public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, and a pediatric emergency physician at New York Hospital Queens, a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Healthcare System. "We should also consider a national fortification strategy, perhaps including routine supplementation and monitoring of serum levels, but more research is needed to determine optimal vitamin D levels."
        
Of the specific findings, the authors were particularly concerned about the role of weight in deficiency. "Because vitamin D is stored in body fat, simply increasing the dosage of vitamin D may not be effective in overweight adolescents," notes senior author Dr. Linda M. Gerber, professor of public health in the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and professor of epidemiology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "As the prevalence of childhood obesity increases, vitamin D deficiency may increase as well. In this group, appropriate nutrition could solve both problems."
        
Another concern is the increased risk of deficiency in girls, some of whom may become pregnant during adolescence. The authors note that a lack of vitamin D may increase maternal risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes and may be associated with reduced bone mineralization in the offspring.
        
Data was obtained from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, a cross-sectional survey administered to a nationally representative sample of persons aged 2 months and older. Analyses were restricted to 2,955 participants aged 12 to 19.
        
The study was co-authored by Dr. Heejung Bang, associate professor of biostatistics in public health at Weill Cornell Medical College.


Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Weill Cornell, which is a principal academic affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in areas such as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular medicine, transplantation medicine, infectious disease, obesity, cancer, psychiatry and public health -- and continue to delve ever deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries of the human body in health and sickness. In its commitment to global health and education, the Medical College has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. For more information, visit www.med.cornell.edu.

# # #

Office of Public Affairs
Weill Cornell Medical College
525 East 68th Street, Box 144
New York, NY 10065

tel: 212.821.0560
fax: 212.821.0576
email: pr@nyp.org

 


Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News