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A systematic review and meta-analysis of the response of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration to vitamin D supplementation from RCTs from around the globe

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 1613–1614 (2020)Cite this article

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We have read with great interest the article entitled “A systematic review and meta-analysis of the response of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration to vitamin D supplementation from RCTs from around the globe” by Mo et al. [1]. The authors performed a meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of vitamin D (VitD) supplementation to identify the association between VitD dose and serum 25(OH)D concentration, and to estimate optimal supplemental dose of vitamin D3 for achieving circulating 25(OH)D concentrations greater than 75 nmol/L for different populations. A total of 136 articles were included with 19 studies in children (mean age 3–17 years) and found that there was a dose–response effect between dose and 25(OH)D concentration. The weighted mean (WM) increments in 25(OH)D concentration per 100 IU/day VitD were 1.6, 2.1, 1.4 nmol/L in the low, moderate, and high-dose groups, respectively. Baseline 25(OH)D concentration and age were significantly associated with achieved 25(OH)D concentration. For children, to reach sufficient 25(OH)D concentration, the recommended VitD intakes was 1340 IU/day. We would like to highlight some critical issues with the methodology of this report.

In the selection of studies for children, authors have omitted six studies, two from Middle East and North Africa region [2, 3], one from Finland [4], one from Australia [5], and two from the United States [6, 7], with over 800 participants, which examined the safety and efficacy of various doses of VitD supplementation for improving the serum 25(OH)D. The exclusion criteria did not justify excluding these studies. The exclusion of four large studies may skew the estimates and make them unreliable.

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  1. Nutrition and Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Golaleh Asghari, Hossein Farhadnejad & Parvin Mirmiran

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  1. Golaleh Asghari
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Correspondence to Parvin Mirmiran.

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Asghari, G., Farhadnejad, H. & Mirmiran, P. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the response of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration to vitamin D supplementation from RCTs from around the globe. Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 1613–1614 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-020-00723-2

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