Effects of vitamin D insufficiency on bone mineral density in African American men

In African American men serum, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) was below 30 ng/ml in 89% of subjects. In overall group, there was no correlation between 25-OHD and bone mineral density (BMD). A subgroup analysis of subjects with 25-OHD ≤ 15 ng/ml showed that serum 25-OHD was positively associated with BMD. Introduction: This study examined the effects of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) on bone mineral density (BMD) in African American (AA) men from the general medicine clinic at an inner city Veteran Administration medical center. Methods: The data for 112 AA males who had both 25-OHD levels and BMD of spine and hip were extracted and analyzed using SAS software. Results: AA men were aged 38 to 85 years, with mean age of 62 years. Levels of 25-OHD ranged from 4 to 45 ng/ml, with mean 17.5 ng/ml, 24% and 89% of the subjects had 25-OHD below 10 and 30 ng/ml, respectively. In the overall group, there was no correlation between 25-OHD and BMD at any site. In a subgroup analysis of subjects with 25-OHD 15 ng/ml, in multiple adjusted models, 25-OHD was positively associated with BMD of spine (r∈=∈0.26, p∈=∈0.05), total hip (r∈=∈0.27, p∈<∈0.05), ward's triangle (r∈=∈0.25, p∈=∈0.05), and trochanter (r∈=∈0.30, p∈<∈0.05). Conclusions: The negative effect of vitamin D insufficiency on bone was observed only at very low levels of 25-OHD, suggesting that AA male skeleton is relatively resistant to the effects of secondary hyperparathyroidism.