research prewriting

Prewriting 1
What are the consequences of lacking in vitamin D and effects of vitamin D supplement?

There are several consequences of low level vitamin D include mortality, bone health, multiple sclerosis, cancer, pregnancy and some other consequences. I found that diseases caused by vitamin D deficiency are both occured in children and adults. For example, rickets, which is a childhood disease we are familiar with. Vitamin D deficiency remains the main cause of rickets among young infants in most countries, because breast milk is low in vitamin D and social customs and climatic conditions can prevent adequate UVB exposure.

The effects of vitamin D supplementation on health are uncertain. A United States Institute of Medicine, (IOM) report states: "Outcomes related to cancer, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, falls and physical performance, immune functioning and autoimmune disorders, infections, neuropsychological functioning, and preeclampsia could not be linked reliably with calcium or vitamin D intake and were often conflicting.":5 Some researchers claim the IOM was too definitive in its recommendations and made a mathematical mistake when calculating the blood level of vitamin D associated with bone health. Members of the IOM panel maintain that they used a "standard procedure for dietary recommendations" and that the report is solidly based on the data. Research on vitamin D supplements, including large scale clinical trials, is continuing.

Although more foods today are supplemented with vitamin D, experts say it is rarely possible to consume adequate amounts through foods. The main dietary sources are wild-caught oily fish (salmon, mackerel, bluefish, and canned tuna) and fortified milk and baby formula, cereal and orange juice.

People in colder regions form their year's supply of natural vitamin D in summer, when ultraviolet-B rays are most direct. But the less sun exposure, the darker a person's skin and the more sunscreen used, the less previtamin D is formed and the lower the serum levels of the vitamin. People who are sun-phobic, babies who are exclusively breast-fed, the elderly and those living in nursing homes are particularly at risk of a serious vitamin D deficiency.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/health/27brod.html?_r0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D#Dietary_reference_intakes


Prewriting 2
Obesity in children and adolescents has reached epidemic proportions, with a prevalence of 16.4 percent among 10 to 17 year olds as of 2007. The increased prevalence of obesity may lead to increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, as well as to an increased risk of cancer. Some of these health consequences of obesity have also been associated with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. In addition, vitamin D status is significantly associated with muscle power/force, and therefore, a deficiency may interfere with the obese adolescent's ability to increase physical activity. ( EXPANDED REPORTING 18)

Patients and Methods
Five hundred nine renal transplant recipients with a follow-up of more than 12 months were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. A total of 189 patients were treated with vitamin D3 supplements, 171 with calcitriol (0.25 or 0.5 μg × 3 weekly) and 18 with cholecalciferol (400 IU/d).
Results
25OHD deficiency was present in 38.3% of patients, insufficiency in 46.9%, and normal levels in 14.7%. There were no differences in the prevalence of deficiency or insufficiency between patients who were not treated or those who were treated with vitamin D3 supplements. Upon multivariate analysis, 25OHD concentrations correlated with gender, length of follow-up, season of 25OHD determination, iPTH and 1.25OHD concentrations, and treatment with ACEI/ARB (R2 = 0.17; P = .000). (Department of Nephrology and Urology)
Summary and conclusions
In a double-blind trial of vitamin D supplements in
pregnant Asian women calciferol (ergocalciferol, 1000
IU/day) was administered to 59 women and placebo to
67 controls during the last trimester. The two groups
had similar distributions of maternal age, height, parity,
number of vegetarians, countries of origin, and sex and
gestation of the infants.
At entry to the trial maternal serum 25-hydroxy
vitamin D (25-OHD) concentrations were low in both
treatment and control groups and significantly lower in
vegetarians than non-vegetarians. Mothers in the treatment
group gained weight faster in the last trimester
than those in the control group, and at term they and
their infants all had adequate plasma 25-OHD concentrations.
Mothers and infants in the control group,
however, had low plasma concentrations of 25-OHD and calcium and raised plasma alkaline phosphatase
(bone isoenzyme) activity. Five of these infants developed
symptomatic hypocalcaemia. Almost twice as many
infants in the control group were small for gestational
age (29% v 15%), but there were no significant differences
between the two groups of infants in anthropometric
measurements. Infants in the control group, however,
had larger fontanelles, suggesting impaired ossification
of the skull.
Because of the benefits to mothers and infants in the
treatment group and the absence of side effects, vitamin
D supplements should be given to all pregnant Asian
women in the United Kingdom.
Introduction (BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL 751)

In people with low blood levels of vitamin D, boosting them with supplements more than halved a person's risk of dying from any cause compared to someone who remained deficient, suggests a large new study.
Analyzing data on more than 10,000 patients, University of Kansas researchers found that 70% were deficient in vitamin D and they were at significantly higher risk for a variety of heart diseases.
D-deficiency also nearly doubled a person's likelihood of dying, whereas correcting the deficiency with supplements lowered risk of death by 60%.(Taylor 1)
It's becoming clear, however, that keeping vitamin D at appropriate levels is important for more than bone health. Too little vitamin D, recent research shows, may be harmful to arteries. Too much contributes to the removal of calcium from the bones, and vitamin D can be toxic.
The problem of excess vitamin D is fairly new, born largely of the dozens of fortified food and dietary supplements on the market. When researchers at Cedars-Sinai Bone Center in Los Angeles recently evaluated the vitamin D intake of 39 patients, they found that four of the men and women were ingesting excessive amounts from supplements. The patients got the extra vitamin D from an average of six to seven different pills, including multivitamins, single-nutrient supplements and supplement blends that contained vitamin D without disclosing it on the label. (Star Tribune)






Work CitedEXPANDED REPORTING “Obese adolescents lacking vitamin D” Pg. 18 May 5,2011
<http://www.lexisnexis.com.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=338011&sr=HLEAD(Obese+adolescents+lacking+vitamin+D)+and+date+is+May+15%2C+2011>

Department of Nephrology and Urology “Vitamin D Deficiency in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Risk Factors and Effects of Vitamin D3 Supplements” Volume 41, Issue 6, July–August 2009, Pages 2388–2390
<http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/science/article/pii/S0041134509007817>


BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL 15 MARCH 1980 Page 751
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1600591/pdf/brmedj00011-0013.pdf>

Kimberly Hayes Taylor. National Post [Don Mills, Ont] 29 Nov 2011: AL.5.“Vitamin D supplements lower death risk: study”<http://search.proquest.com.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/docview/907142872>


Hiser, Elizabeth; Bida, Craig. Star Tribune “Too much of Vitamin D can be a bad thing: [METRO Edition]” Mar 4, 1998
<http://search.proquest.com.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/docview/426959433>