Letter | Published:

Seasonal Changes in Human Plasma Levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D

Nature 247, 563–565 (1974) | Download Citation

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Abstract

THE relative importance of the two alternative sources of vitamin D, endogenous skin synthesis by the action of solar ultraviolet rays and dietary ingestion, is uncertain in Britain. In the past, classical rickets was common in springtime but rare in autumn1,2, suggesting that summer sunshine was an important source of vitamin D. Seasonal variation in plasma antirachitic activity has been detected in more southerly latitudes in the United States, using bioassay techniques3, but data from Britain are scanty and some workers have considered the effects of sunshine to be minimal in this climate4. Possible age or sex differences in vitamin D nutritional status are also unknown.

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References

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      Dent, C. E., Round, J. M., Rowe, D. J. F., and Stamp, T. C. B., Lancet, i, 1282 (1973).

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      Affiliations

      1. Department of Human Metabolism, University College Hospital and Medical School, London, WCl

        • T. C. B. STAMP
        •  & J. M. ROUND

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      https://doi.org/10.1038/247563a0

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