ReviewNutrients2021
Does the High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in African Americans Contribute to Health Disparities?
Review in Nutrients, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 130 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fibromyalgia in cancer patients: a systematic review and clinical implications for integrated care.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Adherence to vitamin D supplementation guidelines in children under five years of age: a systematic literature review.European journal of nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Global and regional prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in population-based studies from 2000 to 2022: A pooled analysis of 7.9 million participants.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Changes in 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels post-vitamin D supplementation in people of Black and Asian ethnicities and its implications during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2022Pooled it
- Individual participant data (IPD)-level meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to estimate the vitamin D dietary requirements in dark-skinned individuals resident at high latitude.European journal of nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Vitamin D Status and SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes.Frontiers in public health · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D on White Matter Hyperintensity in Elderly Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of Daily Vitamin D Supplementation on Risk of Upper Respiratory Infection in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Trial
- Dietary folate, vitamin D, and inflammation modify associations between prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposures and fetal growth.Nutrition and health · 2026Article
- Recent Surge in Severe 25-hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency Among African American Children and Pregnant Women: Implications for Rickets.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Relationship of Maternal 25-Hydroxyvitamin D₃ Deficiency With the Occurrence of Preterm Labor.Cureus · 2026Article
- Association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among individuals incardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stages 0-3: a cohort study from the NHANES 2001-2018.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2026Article
- From Genes to Lives: Integrating the Complexities of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Relationships between diabetes, vitamin D status, depression, and Hispanic ethnicity: a project FRONTIER study.Nutrition & diabetes · 2026Article
- Assessing Mitochondrial Function, Oxidative Stress and Vitamin D Status in Dark-Skinned Patients With Keloid Disease.Dermatology research and practice · 2026Article
- Vitamin D, premature mortality, and life expectancy among US adults.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Rethinking Vitamin D Deficiency: Controversies and Practical Guidance for Clinical Management.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Alzheimer's Disease in Illinois: Analyzing Disparities and Projected Trends.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Aerosolized vitamin D attenuates ozone-induced inflammation and transcriptional responses via membrane antioxidant effects in human bronchial epithelial cells.American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2025Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
African Americans have higher incidence of, and mortality from, many health-related problems than European Americans. They also have a 15 to 20-fold higher prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency. Here we summarize evidence that: (i) this health disparity is partly due to insufficient vitamin D production, caused by melanin in the skin blocking the UVB solar radiation necessary for its synthesis; (ii) the vitamin D insufficiency is exacerbated at high latitudes because of the combination of dark skin color with lower UVB radiation levels; and (iii) the health of individuals with dark skin can be markedly improved by correcting deficiency and achieving an optimal vitamin D status, as could be obtained by supplementation and/or fortification. Moderate-to-strong evidence exists that high 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and/or vitamin D supplementation reduces risk for many adverse health outcomes including all-cause mortality rate, adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, cancer, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, multiple sclerosis, acute respiratory tract infections, COVID-19, asthma exacerbations, rickets, and osteomalacia. We suggest that people with low vitamin D status, which would include most people with dark skin living at high latitudes, along with their health care provider, consider taking vitamin D
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.