It is widely established that vitamin D is critical for bone health. There is also an increasing body of evidence from observational studies that low levels of vitamin D are associated with a range of other disorders, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. People in temperate climates are often deficient in vitamin D, particularly in wintertime. The key question is whether there is sufficient evidence to justify supplementing vitamin D intakes for all. In this 'Controversy in Medicine', two international experts argue the case 'for' and 'against' universal vitamin D supplementation.
Keywords Vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, food supplementation, osteoporosis
Declaration of Interests MD Witham has received grant funding from the Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government, Diabetes UK, Heart Research UK, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, ME Research UK and Tenovus Scotland, to support research into vitamin D.
