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The prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency is higher in adult survivors of childhood cancer
Author(s) -
Neville Kristen A.,
Walker Jan L.,
Cohn Richard J.,
Cowell Christopher T.,
White Christopher P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/cen.12721
Subject(s) - medicine , overweight , vitamin d and neurology , vitamin d deficiency , abdominal obesity , obesity , endocrinology , population , waist , cohort , cancer , environmental health
Summary Background It is unclear whether the rate of vitamin D deficiency in paediatric cancer survivors is higher than in the background population, and whether this is of pathological significance. Patients and Methods 25 OHD was measured in a previously studied group of 208 survivors ( n = 108 paediatric 5–17 years, n = 99 adults 18–39 years) and compared with paediatric (5–17 years; n = 132) and adult controls (25–35 years; n = 1393 from the AusDiab cohort) adjusted for age and gender. Relationships with treatment factors (irradiation, bone marrow transplantation and intensity of treatment) along with overweight/obesity (defined by BMI ), abdominal adiposity (waist:height ratio >0·5) and hyperinsulinism or abnormal glucose tolerance ( HI / aGT ) were sought. Results 25 OHD concentrations were similar in paediatric survivors compared with controls (64·3 ± 21·6 nmol/l vs 66·3 ± 22·8 nmol/l), with no effect of age or gender. Adjusted for gender, rates of 25 OHD deficiency (<50 nmol/l) were higher in adult survivors compared with AusDiab controls (42·4% vs 20·8%; P < 0·001). Apart from time since diagnosis ( P = 0·03), no relationship with treatment factors was detected. In multivariate regression analysis, abdominal adiposity ( P = 0·001), but not overweight/obesity by BMI status nor HI / aGT , was associated with significantly lower 25 OHD concentrations. Conclusions Adult survivors are at increased risk of abnormalities in vitamin D compared to the background population, probably reflecting longer time since diagnosis. Like others, we have not identified any contributory treatment‐related factors. Vitamin D deficiency does not appear to be associated with the development of abnormal glucose tolerance in this population.