Vitamin D status: Multifactorial contribution of environment, genes and other factors in healthy Australian adults across a latitude gradient

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is common and implicated in risk of several human diseases. Evidence on the relative quantitative contribution of environmental, genetic and phenotypic factors to vitamin D status (assessed by the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D) in free-living populations is sparse. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 494 Caucasian adults aged 18-61 years, randomly selected from the Australian Electoral Roll according to groups defined by age, sex and region (spanning 27°-43°South). Data collected included personal characteristics, sun exposure behaviour, biomarkers of skin type and past sun exposure, serum 25(OH)D concentration and candidate single nucleotide po..