Abstract
Hypovitaminosis D has become a pandemic, being observed in all ethnicities and age groups worldwide. Environmental factors, such as increased air pollution and reduced ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation, as well as lifestyle factors, i.e., decreased outdoor activities and/or poor intake of vitamin D-rich food, are likely involved in the etiology of a dramatic reduction of vitamin D circulating levels. The insufficiency/deficiency of vitamin D has long been known for its association with osteoporosis and rickets. However, in the last few decades it has become a serious public health concern since it has been shown to be independently associated with various chronic pathological conditions such as cancer, coronary heart disease, neurological diseases, type II diabetes, autoimmune diseases, depression, with various inflammatory disorders, and with increased risk for all-cause mortality in the general population. Prevention strategies for these disorders have recently involved supplementation with either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 or their analogs at required daily doses and tolerable upper-limit levels. This review will focus on the emerging evidence about non-classical biological functions of vitamin D in various disorders.
Highlights
Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated that an insufficiency of vitamin D (
Hypovitaminosis D has been observed in all ethnicities and age groups, and found to be more severe in men than in women and the elderly The etiology of this pandemic includes lifestyle factors, i.e., low dietary intake and decreased outdoor activities, and environmental factors, i.e., increased air pollution, these latter both reducing the exposure to sunlight needed for ultraviolet B (UVB)-mediated activation of vitamin D synthesis starting from 7-dehydrocholesterol in the epidermis [1,2,3]
Hypovitaminosis D has long been known to increase the risk for osteoporosis and rickets, and only in the last decades it has been linked with various chronic pathological conditions, i.e., cancer, coronary heart disease (CHD), non-insulin dependent diabetes, neurological disorders, as well as autoimmune and inflammatory diseases [5,6]
Summary
Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated that an insufficiency of vitamin D (
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