The Status of the Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level in Korean Postmenopausal Women and Its Effect on bone Metabolism

Objectives: Active vitamin D is one of the key bone-related hormone. Vitamin D deficiency causes osteomalacia, and even its insufficiency would bring irreversible bone loss and increased risk of fracture. We evaluated the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D(25(OH)D) and parathyroid hormone(PTH) level and their relations to the bone mineral density. Methods: The nine hundred eight Korean postmenopausal women who visited our hospital during January 2001 to December 2002 were evaluated on their 25(OH)D status with other biochemical analyses. For further analysis of the factors affecting the vitamin D status and relations with bone mass, 94 women were additionally studied of the bone mineral density(BMD) and the bone markers. Results: The mean serum 25(OH)D level was 16.3ng/mL(40.6 nM) in the whole women throughout the year. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficient patients defined as 25(OH)D less than 12ng/mL was 27.9%. Serum 25(OH)D checked during the winter season, from October to March, was inversely related to serum PTH level (r=-0.197, p12ng/mL], vitamin D insufficient group[12>25(OH)D > 6ng/mL], vitamin D deficient group[25(OH)D <6ng/mL]. In the vitamin D deficient group, women were slightly older and had significantly lower BMD at the lumbar vertebrae, the femoral neck, femoral trochanter and total hip(p