Vitamin D status, vitamin D intake, and sunlight exposure in adults adhering or not to periodic religious fasting for decades

We investigated whether periodic abstinence from foods of animal origin and a conservative lifestyle, with reduced sunlight exposure, affect vitamin D status. In a cross-sectional design, we measured the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and assessed dietary vitamin D intake and sunlight exposure in 200 adults adhering to religious fasting for decades and in 200 non-fasters, with no differences between groups in bone mineral density. Fasters showed lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration than non-fasters in winter and spring. Vitamin D intake and some indices of sunlight exposure (including two related to winter and spring) were lower in fasters, and 378 of the 400 participants exhibited vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency. In conclusion, individuals following a religious lifestyle had lower vitamin D intake, sunlight exposure and, at times, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration than controls, although these differences did not impact bone health.

本研究旨在探究定期禁食动物性来源食物，以及伴随减少日晒的节制生活方式是否会对维生素D状态产生影响。本研究采用横断面研究设计，纳入200名数十年坚持宗教斋戒的成人与200名非斋戒者作为研究对象，检测两组受试者的血清25-羟维生素D（25-hydroxyvitamin D）浓度，评估其膳食维生素D摄入情况与日晒暴露水平；两组受试者的骨密度无显著差异。研究结果显示，斋戒者在冬、春两季的血清25-羟维生素D浓度显著低于非斋戒者。斋戒者的膳食维生素D摄入量以及部分日晒暴露指标（包括两项与冬、春季相关的指标）均低于非斋戒者；400名受试者中共计378名存在维生素D不足或缺乏的情况。综上，遵循宗教斋戒生活方式的人群相较于对照组，其膳食维生素D摄入量、日晒暴露水平均更低，且部分时段的血清25-羟维生素D浓度也更低，但上述差异并未对骨骼健康造成不良影响。