ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D insufficiency is common in northern countries during wintertime. In Finland, after the recommendation by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, vitamin D has been added to liquid milk products and margarines from February 2003. OBJECTIVE: We determined the effects of national policy on vitamin D fortification on vitamin D status among young Finnish men. DESIGN: A comparison before and after intervention with study population of 196 young Finnish men (18-28 years) was carried out. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OHD3) concentrations were determined with the OCTEIA enzymeimmunoassay by IDS (Immunodiagnostic Systems Limited, Bolden, UK) in January 2003 (n = 96) and in January 2004 (n = 100), nearly 1 year after national vitamin D fortification had started. RESULTS: The mean serum 25-OHD3 concentrations during the wintertime increased by 50% after implementation of the vitamin D fortification of dairy products. Correspondingly, the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25-OHD3 < 40 nmol/l) was decreased by 50% from 78% in January 2003 to 35% in January 2004. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that national vitamin D fortification substantially improved the vitamin D status of young Finnish men. Still, a third remained vitamin D insufficient.
Subject(s)
Bone Density Conservation Agents/therapeutic use , Food, Fortified , Vitamin D Deficiency/drug therapy , Vitamin D/analogs & derivatives , Vitamin D/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Adult , Dairy Products , Finland/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Public Health , Seasons , Sunlight , Treatment Outcome , Vitamin D/blood , Vitamin D Deficiency/blood , Vitamin D Deficiency/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Vitamin D is a neuroactive secosteroid with several important functions in the nervous system. Many human and animal findings link alterations in the vitamin D system to various neurological and behavioral disorders. Since grooming is an important element of animal behavior, here we studied whether genetic ablation of vitamin D receptors (VDR) in mice may be associated with altered grooming behaviors. Overall, VDR knockout (VDRko) mice presented longer duration and higher frequency of grooming when tested in the actimeter, open field, elevated plus maze, and horizontal rod tests. Increased grooming did not, however, correlate with unaltered general activity level (actimeter test), anxiety-like behaviors (hole board and elevated plus maze tests), and emotional reactivity index (defecation boli). In general, our results confirm the role of vitamin D and VDR in the regulation of behavior, including grooming, and suggest that increased grooming behavioral phenotype may be associated with genetic ablation of VDR in mutant mice.
