How much vitamin D is needed to maintain bone health? / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Vitamin D is the precursor of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which is considered as the critical hormone involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphate homeostasis and bone metabolism. Adequate vitamin D status is very important in the maintenance of bone health. However, recent controlled vitamin D intervention studies showed controversial results. One of the important reasons for this is the difference in the baseline of vitamin D status among studies. The vitamin D status in the Chinese population is much lower as compared to that in Western countries. Postmenopausal women and elderly with vitamin D deficiency should take appropriate vitamin D supplementation in order to achieve serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels greater than 20 ng/ml or even 30 ng/ml. However, it may be difficult to bring more benefits from excessive supplementation in order to maintain bone health.