It’s always sunny in Mumbai, but citizens lacking Vitamin D

It’s always sunny in Mumbai, but citizens lacking Vitamin D



Sumitra Deb Roy TNN



Mumbai: The city’s upper middle class and wealthy may adhere to a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise, but our attempt to seek cover from the harsh gaze of the tropical sun has put us at risk.
Most Mumbaikars working in air-conditioned offices are lacking in vital Vitamin D, the benefits of which range from strengthening
bones and teeth to preventing diabetes, cancer and cardiac problems. The sun’s rays are a major source of Vitamin D.
A study conducted by doctors at P D Hinduja Hospital at Mahim found that 77.5% of 561 males and 72.68 % of 443 females, who had come to the hospital for routine health checkups, were deficient in Vitamin D. Men and women in the 40-60 age group appeared to be the most vulnerable, said doctors.
Of the 1,004 healthy men and women tested, 75% had a deficiency with less than 20 nanograms (ng) of Vitamin D per millilitre of blood. Another 20% had “insufficient” levels of Vitamin D. Only 2.4% men and 5.4 % women tested had adequate levels of vitamin D in their blood, which is more than 40ng/ml.
Doctors say this is a worrisome trend and call it an “underlying epidemic”.

NOT ENOUGH OF THE SUNSHINE VITAMIN



•Though the major source of Vitamin D is sunlight, it’s also found in food items like raw milk and cod liver oil

•It maintains normal calcium and phosphorous levels in the blood, which are needed for strong bones & teeth

•Apart from brittle bones and teeth, recent studies have also found a correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and Type-I diabetes, and cancer

•A study conducted by Hinduja Hospital doctors found that Mumbaikars suffer from a massive Vitamin D deficiency. Only 2.4% of 561 males tested and 5.4% of 443 females had healthy levels of Vitamin D

•Of the 561 men tested, 435 showed deficiency (less than 20 nanogram per millilitre), while 112 had insufficent amounts of Vit D (between 21-40ng/ml). Of the 443 women tested, only 24 showed sufficiency (above 40ng/ml)

Lifestyles hit Vitamin D levels


Mumbai: On one hand scientists warn us of the sun’s harmful UV rays. On the other hand, these rays are a vital source of essential Vitamin D, which is often called the sunshine vitamin. When doctors at Hinduja Hospital in Mahim tested people who had come for routine medical checkups, they found that an overwhelming majority—75% of 1,004 people—were seriously deficient in Vitamin D. All the people hailed from upper middleclass and wealthy families.
The sunshine vitamin is not only required for healthy bones and a strong skeletal structure, emerging studies have linked deficiencies to diseases like
diabetes and cancer, cardiacrelated ailments, neuromuscular disorders and even abnormal brain functions.
Yet the deficiency of vitamin D remains unexplained in a city like Mumbai where sunlight is found in abundance. Doctors blame it on urbanization and
lifestyle. Dr Vipla Puri,
consultant, laboratory medicine, P D Hinduja Hospital said: “Almost all people who hail from higher-income groups work indoors and step out only after the sun sets. It is taking a huge toll, silently.” Her department had collected the data for the study
over the last three months.
According to Dr Sudhindra Kulkarni endocrinologist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, the deficiency is “rampant and alarming”. He said: “It is not only about less or more exposure to sunlight but about appropriate absorption of the light and its conversion to Vitamin D. That process is suffering leading to an array of problems, and recently even metabolic disorders.” People step out of their air-conditioned houses and step into their air-conditioned cars and once again enter their air-conditioned offices, he added.
Experts say that many patients suffering from diabetes and thyroid are also found to have Vitamin D deficiency. This could explain why more youngsters are falling prey to health problems like osteoporosis.
Besides sunlight, an appropriate diet is also required. Head of the endocrinology department at KEM Hospital Dr Nalini Shah said Indian food, unlike in the West is not fortified with Vitamin D. Even after adequate exposure to sunlight, some may suffer from the deficiency, she said. “The UV rays may get filtered due to environmental conditions.”
A workable solution is to expose oneself to adequate sunlight every day for anywhere between 15-30 minutes, added Puri: “The good news is that public awareness is improving. “We do at least 150 Vitamin D tests a day, which was not the
case few
years ago,”
she said.

THE ABCs OF D


It is a fat soluble vitamin, something that gets easily dissolved in body fat SUN’S RAYS | A major source of Vitamin D is exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. It is absorbed by the body when UV rays touch the skin. The chemical conversion of Vitamin D into its hormone form is performed by the liver and kidney

OTHER SOURCES |

Though its
major source is sunlight,
Vitamin D can also be found in certain food items such as raw milk and cod liver oil

WHY DO WE NEED IT?

It maintains normal calcium and phosphorous levels in the blood, which are needed for strong bones and healthy teeth. Phosphorous is required to keep the body’s muscles and nerves in working order
It aids in the absorption of calcium, and helps form and maintain strong bones

DEFICIENCY DANGERS


In adults, Vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia, where the bones become thin and brittle
It can cause muscular weakness
It can lead to osteoporosis, which is the thinning of bone tissues and their degeneration over time
In kids, it can cause rickets (weakening of bones)
Studies have linked deficiency to diabetes, cancer, cardiac ailments, neuromuscular disorders and abnormal brain functions










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Cell Phones & Bones

Could cellphones be weakening our bones?



A study has found that using mobile phones may increase our chances of having osteoporosis later in life


Mumbai Mirror Bureau mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com




Astudy has found that men who routinely wear their cellphone on their belt on the right side have reduced bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the right hip, according to the study by Fernando Sravi of National University of Cuyo, Argentina.
His research on how electromagnetic radiation from cellular phones may adversely affect bone strength appears in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.
Sravi writes, "The different patterns of right-left asymmetry in bone mineral found in mobile phone users and nonusers are consistent with a effect of electromagnetic waves not previously described."
Sravi measured BMC and BMD at the left and right hip in two groups of healthy men: 24 men who did not use phones and 24 men who carried their cellphone in a belt pouch, on the right side, for at least one year.
Measured using a test called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, BMC and BMD are standard markers of bone strength. Average hip BMC and BMD measurements were not significantly different between groups.
However, men who did not use cellphones had higher BMC in the right femoral neck (near the top of the thigh bone): a normal left-right difference that was absent in cellphone users.
Thus men who wore their cellphones on the right side had a relative reduction in femoral neck BMC in that hip.
The phone users also had reduced BMD and BMC in the area near the thigh bone, close to where the phone would be worn on the belt. The difference between the left and right hip was significantly related to the estimated total hours spent carrying a cell phone.
There are concerns about potential harmful effects of phones. However, few studies have looked at if the electromagnetic fields emitted by them could affect bone mineralisation.
With the rapid growth in cell use, any significant effect on BMD could have a substantial effect on the rate of osteoporosis.
Although small, the new study raises the possibility that long-term exposure to radiation from phones could adversely affect bone mineralisation.
Larger follow-up studies will be needed to confirm or disprove this hypothesis, according to Sravi.
He suggests that studies may be warranted in women, who have higher rates of osteoporosis; and children, who would have longer expected lifetime exposure to mobile phones.

Painkillers up risk of stroke, heart attack by four times

London: Commonly used painkillers such as ibuprofen and diclofenac may increase the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke by fourfold, a new study has claimed.
In one of the most comprehensive studies on the cardiovascular effects of painkillers, scientists from Bern University in Switzerland analysed data from 31 trials involving more than 116,000 patients taking such drugs and found that heart patients using a high-dose painkiller daily for a year could triple their risk of a stroke.
Although the overall numbers of people suffering heart attacks or strokes while on the drugs is small, the team found that there are important risks associated with taking them, the Telegraph reported.The drugs examined were naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, etoricoxib and two others called rofecoxib or Vioxx, and lumiracoxib.
The drugs, called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDS) and a subgroup of newer onescalledCOX-2inhibitors, areknown to affect the heart and one of them, Vioxx, was removed from sale in 2004 because of the increased risk of heart attacks. PTI



Heart patients using a high-dose painkiller a day for a year could triple the risk of a stroke

Can Too much calium cause heart disease

Don’t throw out those calcium supplements just yet.
Oh, the ruckus a single study can raise. A report about calcium and cardiovascular disease had people from San Diego to Caribou, Maine worriedly calling their doctors or throwing away the calcium supplements they were taking to keep their bones strong.

Here’s what prompted the concern: New Zealand researchers pooled the results of 11 randomized, controlled trials—the so-called gold standard of medical research—comparing the effects of calcium supplements and placebo on preventing osteoporosis or colon cancer. All the trials also had information on the volunteers’ cardiovascular health. As reported online in the BMJ, more of the volunteers taking calcium had heart attacks, stroke, or died suddenly than did those taking the placebo. Media reports duly noted a 30% increased risk of cardiovascular disease with calcium supplements, which sounds scary. Another way to put the findings: 5.8% of those taking calcium had a cardiovascular event, compared with 5.5% of those taking placebo.

This publication is just another piece of the calcium puzzle. It isn’t a practice changer. Some prior studies have shown that taking calcium supplements is linked to cardiovascular disease, others haven’t.

The connection between calcium and cardiovascular disease is plausible. Calcium deposits are part of artery-clogging plaque. They also contribute to stiffening of the arteries and interfere with the action of heart valves. But whether there is a direct connection between the amount of calcium in the bloodstream (calcium supplements increase blood calcium levels) and cardiovascular problems isn’t yet known.

An even bigger unanswered question is how much calcium the average person needs each day to keep bones strong and healthy. At one end of the spectrum, the World Health Organization says 400 to 500 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day are needed to prevent osteoporosis. At the other end, the official recommendation for Americans is 1,000 mg/day from ages 19 to 50 and 1,200 mg/day after that.

Given the uncertainty about the balance of benefits and risks of calcium supplements, it’s probably best not to rely just on this mineral to keep your bones strong and prevent bone-thinning osteoporosis. Other options include:

•Weight-bearing exercise, like walking, running, tennis, and others, is one of the best things you can do for your bones.
•Getting enough vitamin D, from sun and supplements, is also good for bones and overall health. (As with everything, don’t overdo it—no more than 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine without sunscreen, and/or 800 to 1,000 IU of a vitamin D supplement.)
•Vitamin K from green leafy vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, and kale is also important for bone health.
A single study rarely changes health recommendations. This New Zealand study alone definitely shouldn’t change advice on calcium supplement. It should, though, nudge you to talk with your doctor about calcium, and do other things to protect your bones.