Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.

Orkney, north of mainland Scotland, has the world's highest prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS); vitamin D deficiency, a marker of low UV exposure, is also common in Scotland. Strong associations have been identified between vitamin D deficiency and MS, and between UV exposure and MS independ...

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Main Authors: Emily Weiss, Lina Zgaga, Stephanie Read, Sarah Wild, Malcolm G Dunlop, Harry Campbell, Ruth McQuillan, James F Wilson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155633&type=printable
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author Emily Weiss
Lina Zgaga
Stephanie Read
Sarah Wild
Malcolm G Dunlop
Harry Campbell
Ruth McQuillan
James F Wilson
author_facet Emily Weiss
Lina Zgaga
Stephanie Read
Sarah Wild
Malcolm G Dunlop
Harry Campbell
Ruth McQuillan
James F Wilson
author_sort Emily Weiss
collection DOAJ
description Orkney, north of mainland Scotland, has the world's highest prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS); vitamin D deficiency, a marker of low UV exposure, is also common in Scotland. Strong associations have been identified between vitamin D deficiency and MS, and between UV exposure and MS independent of vitamin D, although causal relationships remain to be confirmed. We aimed to compare plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in Orkney and mainland Scotland, and establish the determinants of vitamin D status in Orkney. We compared mean vitamin D and prevalence of deficiency in cross-sectional study data from participants in the Orkney Complex Disease Study (ORCADES) and controls in the Scottish Colorectal Cancer Study (SOCCS). We used multivariable regression to identify factors associated with vitamin D levels in Orkney. Mean (standard deviation) vitamin D was significantly higher among ORCADES than SOCCS participants (35.3 (18.0) and 31.7 (21.2), respectively). Prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency was lower in ORCADES than SOCCS participants (6.6% to 16.2% p = 1.1 x 10(-15)). Older age, farming occupations and foreign holidays were significantly associated with higher vitamin D in Orkney. Although mean vitamin D levels are higher in Orkney than mainland Scotland, this masks variation within the Orkney population which may influence MS risk.
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spelling doaj-art-621dd6bbf067473080d7ce1f6f01dfa22025-08-20T02:31:59ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015563310.1371/journal.pone.0155633Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.Emily WeissLina ZgagaStephanie ReadSarah WildMalcolm G DunlopHarry CampbellRuth McQuillanJames F WilsonOrkney, north of mainland Scotland, has the world's highest prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS); vitamin D deficiency, a marker of low UV exposure, is also common in Scotland. Strong associations have been identified between vitamin D deficiency and MS, and between UV exposure and MS independent of vitamin D, although causal relationships remain to be confirmed. We aimed to compare plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in Orkney and mainland Scotland, and establish the determinants of vitamin D status in Orkney. We compared mean vitamin D and prevalence of deficiency in cross-sectional study data from participants in the Orkney Complex Disease Study (ORCADES) and controls in the Scottish Colorectal Cancer Study (SOCCS). We used multivariable regression to identify factors associated with vitamin D levels in Orkney. Mean (standard deviation) vitamin D was significantly higher among ORCADES than SOCCS participants (35.3 (18.0) and 31.7 (21.2), respectively). Prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency was lower in ORCADES than SOCCS participants (6.6% to 16.2% p = 1.1 x 10(-15)). Older age, farming occupations and foreign holidays were significantly associated with higher vitamin D in Orkney. Although mean vitamin D levels are higher in Orkney than mainland Scotland, this masks variation within the Orkney population which may influence MS risk.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155633&type=printable
spellingShingle Emily Weiss
Lina Zgaga
Stephanie Read
Sarah Wild
Malcolm G Dunlop
Harry Campbell
Ruth McQuillan
James F Wilson
Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.
PLoS ONE
title Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.
title_full Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.
title_fullStr Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.
title_full_unstemmed Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.
title_short Farming, Foreign Holidays, and Vitamin D in Orkney.
title_sort farming foreign holidays and vitamin d in orkney
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155633&type=printable
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AT malcolmgdunlop farmingforeignholidaysandvitamindinorkney
AT harrycampbell farmingforeignholidaysandvitamindinorkney
AT ruthmcquillan farmingforeignholidaysandvitamindinorkney
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