Summer Sun Fails to Fix Vitamin D Gap in At-Risk Groups

This new UK study found that vitamin D insufficiency remains common throughout the year among older adults and people from minoritized ethnic backgrounds in northern England. The finding challenges the assumption that summer sunlight is sufficient to restore healthy vitamin D levels. Researchers from Newcastle University’s Human Nutrition and Exercise Research Centre analyzed blood samples from 299 participants and found that more than half of adults aged 65 and over had insufficient vitamin D levels. Among ethnic individuals, almost three-quarters were classified as low or deficient.

Significantly, the participants’ vitamin D levels showed little improvement during the summer months, despite the increased opportunities for sun exposure. Since a lack of vitamin D has been linked to conditions including psoriasis, irregular heartbeat, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, depression, dementia, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, as well as a higher risk of death, the findings add to the growing evidence that deficiency is a widespread public health challenge.

To read how, despite plentiful sun, researchers have also found high rates of vitamin D deficiency in Africa, see this article on our website.