Private MD News

Expert recommends vitamin D testing

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

There are relatively few food sources of vitamin D and people rarely get adequate amounts of sun exposure to maintain high levels of the nutrient. For these reasons, experts urge individuals to seek vitamin D testing, as large segments of the population may have dangerously low levels of the nutrient.

Dr. Arnold Moses told the Syracuse Post-Standard that modern lifestyles restrict sun exposure, increasing the risk of deficiency. Because of the risks associated with modern lifestyles, many people may have low levels.

"So many people are at risk; [vitamin D testing] become a very common thing to do," he told the news source. "An ordinary healthy person should get it checked once, and if there's a deficiency, have it corrected by large doses of vitamin D under a physician's supervision over six or eight weeks."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that at least one-third of U.S. adults have deficient or insufficient levels of vitamin D. Once the problem has been diagnosed through vitamin D testing, it may be relatively easy to treat it with supplements.