Vitamin D Deficiency Might Be Overdiagnosed in Blacks, Study Suggests

Black adults typically have low levels of vitamin D in their blood, but they are on par with whites when it comes to the "active" form of vitamin D used by the body's cells, a new study finds.

Experts said the findings go a long way toward explaining a paradox: Blacks usually have fairly low vitamin D levels, but have greater bone mass than whites. Vitamin D is needed to maintain strong bones.

What's more, the results suggest that doctors may be overdiagnosing vitamin D deficiency in black patients, said lead researcher Dr. Ravi Thadhani, chief of nephrology at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

"We're suggesting that the definition of vitamin D deficiency needs to be rethought," said Thadhani, whose report appears in the Nov. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_142717.html