Association between vitamin D status and serum parathyroid hormone concentration and calcaneal stiffness in Japanese adolescents: sex differences in susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency

There is currently insufficient information on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations, and bone mineral status in healthy adolescents to allow reference values to be set. This study aimed to provide comparable data on vitamin D status in Japanese adolescents and to assess sex differences in susceptibility to vitamin D insufficiency. Serum 25OHD and PTH concentrations were measured in 1,380 healthy adolescents (aged 12–18 years). Subjects completed a questionnaire on exercise history, diet, and lifestyle factors. Calcaneal stiffness was evaluated by quantitative ultrasound. Serum 25OHD concentrations in boys and girls were 60.8 ± 18.3 and 52.8 ± 17.0 nmol/L, respectively. Approximately 30 % of boys and 47 % of girls had suboptimal 25OHD concentrations (<50 nmol/L). Serum PTH concentration was negatively correlated with serum 25OHD concentration in boys, but negatively correlated with calcium intake rather than serum 25OHD in girls. In contrast, the increment in calcaneal stiffness as a result of elevation of serum 25OHD was higher in girls than in boys. As vitamin D deficiency is common in Japanese adolescents, it was estimated that intakes of ≥12 and ≥14 μg/day vitamin D would be required to reach 25OHD concentrations of 50 nmol/L in boys and girls, respectively. Moreover, the results of the present study indicate that vitamin D deficiency has a greater association with calcaneal stiffness in girls than in boys.