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There are many risk factors for Vitamin D deficiency. This study aimed to compare the Vitamin D status and serum 25(OH)D concentrations of adults living in an urban area to adults living in a rural area in the West of Ireland (latitude 53.27° North). A cross-sectional retrospective analysis of clinical records was performed. Following interrogation of the electronic laboratory information system, individuals who had serum 25(OH)D concentrations measured at Galway University Hospitals between January 2011 and December 2015 were identified. Clinical demographics, setting and date of sampling were recorded. In total, 17,590 patients (urban n = 4,824; rural n = 12,766) were eligible for inclusion. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were lower among rural compared to urban dwellers irrespective of season (spring p < 0.001, summer p = 0.009, autumn p = 0.002, winter p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in Vitamin D status between urban and rural dwellers in three of the four seasons: spring- deficiency: 16%-v-23%, insufficiency: 39%-v-43%, sufficiency: 45%-v-35% (p < 0.001); autumn- deficiency: 11%-v-10%, insufficiency: 30%-v-35%, sufficiency: 59%-v-56% (p = 0.01); winter- deficiency: 23%-v-25%, insufficiency: 35%-v-42%, sufficiency: 41%-v-33% (p < 0.001). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were higher and the prevalence of deficiency lower in urban/rural females compared to urban/rural males (p < 0.001). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations increased sequentially from the 18-39 year age group to the 60-69 year age group in both urban (p < 0.001) and rural (p < 0.001) dwellers and then decreased progressively as age increased to ≥90 years. The odds of Vitamin D deficiency increased with age, lower daily sunshine hours, male gender, rural address and season., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The author(s) declared no potential conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Identify the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on the vitamin D status of individuals in the west of Ireland. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Adults who had wintertime serum 25(OH)D analysis completed in Galway University Hospital. Participants: A total of 16,725 participants (2015–2020 (n = 13,449) and 2020–2021 (n = 3276)). Baseline demographics; sex, age, origin of the sample and the date of sample collection. Results: Median serum vitamin D and serum vitamin D3 concentrations were higher in the 5-month period from October–February 2020–2021 (61 nmol/L (± 36–85 nmol/L) and 60 nmol/L (± 34–85 nmol/L)) respectively, than for the corresponding 5-month period (October–February) in 2015–2020 (53 nmol/L (± 32–78 nmol/L) and 51 nmol/L (± 30–77 nmol/L)) respectively. These changes coincided with a decline in the prevalence of deficiency. In the 5-month period October–February 2020–2021, 19.2% of the population were vitamin D deficient (< 30 nmol/L) compared to 22.5% in the corresponding 5-month period in 2015–2020, and 38.1% were vitamin D deficient (< 50 nmol/L) in the 5-month period October–February 2020–2021 compared to 46.6% in the corresponding 5-month period in 2015–2020. Males were more likely to be deficient at both thresholds (p < 0.001). For the total cohort, at the < 30 nmol/L threshold, inpatients (25.5%) and nursing home residents (34.1%) had higher prevalence of deficiency. Conclusions: Vitamin D levels were higher in the 5-month period of October–February 2020–2021, and this precipitated a decline in deficiency at both thresholds, indicating that lockdown coincided with enhanced vitamin D status. We postulate that it may be attributable to changes in diet and/or supplementation, or increased sun exposure, but further confirmatory studies are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]