Vitamin D deficiency is on the rise in area

PATIENTS in Leicestershire and Lincolnshire have been treated for vitamin D deficiencies more than 2,500 times in a year, as diagnoses for the condition soar.

People are increasingly likely to be treated in hospital for a lack of the vitamin, which people get mostly from sunlight.

There were 2,874 finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency in hospitals in the Leicestershire and Lincolnshire area in 2015/16.

This was a 198% increase from 963 FCEs in 2011/12, and up from 2,001 in 2014/15.

Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phos- phate in the body. These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.

A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.

There were 11 FCEs with a primary or secondary diagnosis of rickets in the area in 2015/16, according to figures from NHS Digital, the highest number in five years.

Across England, there were 82,918 FCEs for vitamin D deficiency in 2015/16, up 283% from 21,649 FCEs in 2011/12, and up from 59,428 in 2014/15.

This was an average of 15.4 FCEs per 10,000 people in 2015/16.

There were also 678 FCEs for rickets, up from 669 in 2014/15 and 2013/14, but down from 994 in 2011/12.

From about late March/early April to the end of September, most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight.

The body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors.

However, between October and early March, people don’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight.

Vitamin D is also found in a small number of foods, such as oily fish, including salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and fresh tuna, red meat, liver, egg yolks, and fortified foods – such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals. Another source of vitamin D is dietary supplements.

Some people won’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight because they have very little or no sunshine exposure.

The Department of Health recommends that you take a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D throughout the year if you aren’t often outdoors – for example, if you’re frail or housebound, are in an institution like a care home or usually wear clothes that cover up most of your skin when outdoors

If you’re from a minority ethnic group with dark skin, such as African, African-Caribbean or south Asian, you may also not get enough vitamin D from sunlight. You should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D throughout the year.