Abstract
ObjectivesThis study investigates vitamin D deficiency patterns in individuals from birth to the beginning of adolescence. Microscopic computed tomography (micro‐CT) evaluation of interglobular dentine (IGD) in teeth provides information on the age of disease onset and the number of deficient periods per individual, which will increase our understanding of factors influencing vitamin D deficiency prevalence, including sociocultural practices and latitude.Materials and methodsBeemster and Hattem, two Dutch 17th–19th century communities, yielded relatively high prevalences of rickets (15–24%) and residual rickets (15–24%). From the affected individuals, a subsample of 20 teeth were selected for micro‐CT scanning. Thin sections were made of 17 teeth, consisting of 6 teeth with and 11 teeth without observable IGD on micro‐CT that were included for method comparison.ResultsAbout 19 out of 29 (65.5%) individuals (one tooth was deemed unobservable) presented with IGD on micro‐CT. Eight of the 11 (72.7%) individuals without IGD on micro‐CT demonstrated histologically visible IGD. In 40.7% (11/27) of the affected individuals (combined micro‐CT and histology results), vitamin D deficiency was recurrent, and in four individuals, some episodes occurred at approximately annual intervals suggesting vitamin D deficiency was seasonal. In three individuals, IGD occurred in the dentine formed around birth, suggesting maternal vitamin D deficiency.DiscussionMicro‐CT analysis of IGD is found to be a valuable non‐destructive method that can improve our understanding of the influence of sociocultural practices and latitude on disease development within age and sex groups in past communities.
Highlights
Vitamin D is important in the evolution of human skin pigmentation, growth, and health (Eckhardt, Gernand, Roth, & Bodnar, 2015; Holick, 2004; Jablonski & Chaplin, 2013, 2018)
Residual rickets was scored as remnant lesions of a nonadult vitamin D deficiency in the adult skeleton, using the criteria described by Brickley and Ives (2008) and Brickley et al (2010)
Episodes of interglobular dentine (IGD) were observed in the dentine formed around birth which suggests maternal vitamin D deficiency
Summary
Vitamin D is important in the evolution of human skin pigmentation, growth, and health (Eckhardt, Gernand, Roth, & Bodnar, 2015; Holick, 2004; Jablonski & Chaplin, 2013, 2018). Vitamin D plays an important role in the calcium homeostasis needed for mineralization of osteoid, newly formed bone tissue (Holick, 2006). Insufficient sunlight exposure will lead to vitamin D deficiency and bending deformities of the skeleton may develop that are visible in archeological human remains Improved methods for detecting vitamin D deficiency, and reconstructing the number of deficiency events and their age of occurrence, will open up multiple avenues to better understand the relationship between vitamin D and human adaptation and evolution
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