Vitamin D and human health: more than just bone

Abstract

In their Perspective article (Common misconceptions about vitamin D— implications for clinicians. Nat Rev. Endocrinol. doi:10.1038/nrendo.2013.75),1 Rosen and Taylor have provided a primer on the state of vitamin D research. However, the analyses presented of the current literature are not balanced. The conclusions of the authors largely reflect those of the 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report,2 which immediately created a controversy, leading to published rebuttals.3 The IOM report was controversial in part because of its very conservative recommendations for dietary intakes, its conclusions of insufficient evidence for any role of vitamin D in nonbone health, and the way it presented evidence for the potential harm associated with ci rculating 25hydroxyvitamin D levels. Notably, considerable debate surrounds potential roles of vitamin D in nonbone indications including cancer prevention and control of immune system function. The authors conclude that “effects of vitamin D on nonbone disorders is currently best described as consisting of hypotheses of emerging interest”.1 They also claim that vitamin D supplementation has not been shown to prevent infections. In fact, several randomized placebo-controlled trials have been published providing evidence for vitamin D supplementation of deficient populations in preventing a variety of infections. In addition to the (highly cited) results of a trial published in 2010 concluding that Vitamin D and human health: more than just bone