Once foods in the United States were fortified with vitamin D, rickets appeared to have been conquered, and many considered major health problems from vitamin D deficiency resolved. But vitamin D deficiency is common. This review considers the role of vitamin D in skeletal and nonskeletal health and suggests strategies for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency.

Supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (M01RR00533 and AR36963) and the UV Foundation.

Dr. Holick reports receiving honoraria from Merck, Eli Lilly, and Procter & Gamble and consulting fees from Quest Diagnostics, Amgen, Novartis, and Procter & Gamble. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

I thank Dr. Farhad Chimeh for his helpful review of an earlier version of this manuscript and Donna Gendron and Lorrie MacKay for their secretarial assistance.

Source Information

From the Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Diabetes, the Vitamin D, Skin, and Bone Research Laboratory, Boston University Medical Center, Boston.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Holick at Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany St., M-1013, Boston, MA 02118, or at .

Media in This Article

Figure 1Synthesis and Metabolism of Vitamin D in the Regulation of Calcium, Phosphorus, and Bone Metabolism.
Figure 2Metabolism of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D for Nonskeletal Functions.

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