Pigmentation and Vitamin D Metabolism in Caucasians: Low Vitamin D Serum Levels in Fair Skin Types in the UK

Vitamin D may play a protective role in many diseases. Public health messages are advocating sun avoidance to reduce skin cancer risk but the potential deleterious effects of these recommendations for vitamin D metabolism have been poorly investigated.We investigated the association between 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D), skin type and ultraviolet exposure in 1414 Caucasian females in the UK. Mean age of the cohort was 47 years (18–79) and mean 25(OH)D levels were 77 nmol/L (6–289). 25(OH)D levels were strongly associated with season of sampling with higher levels in the spring and summer months (p<0.0001). Light skin types (skin type 1 and 2) have lower levels of 25(OH)D (mean 71 nmol/L) compared to darker skin types (skin type 3 and 4) (mean 82 nmol/L) after adjusting for multiple confounders (p