The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force has an opportunity for Public Comment for vitamin D testing. In the draft proposal, pregnancy is not listed. Based on the work of Bruce Hollis of the Medical University of South Carolina and others, this is a very serious error. According to this work, higher vitamin D levels prevents very serious conditions during pregnancy and improved birth weight of the baby. Please take the time to read the drafts and make comments.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Opportunities for Public Comment

Draft Recommendation:

Under Importance, the Draft Recommendation states that ”low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased risk for fractures, functional limitations, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and mortality.”

The USPSTF is working in conjunction with the Health and Human Services AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program. This group writes the medical guidelines for medical care.

Following is a paper that was written by the Endocrine Society Task Force in 2011:

Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline (pdf)

Authors: Michael F. Holick, Neil C. Binkley, Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, Catherine M. Gordon, David A. Hanley, Robert P. Heaney, M. Hassan Murad, and Connie M. Weaver

First published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, July 2011, 96(7): 1911–1930

Conclusions: Considering that vitamin D deficiency is very common in all age groups and that few foods contain vitamin D, the Task Force recommended supplementation at suggested daily intake and tolerable upper limit levels, depending on age and clinical circumstances. The Task Force also suggested the measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level by a reliable assay as the initial diagnostic test is patients at risk for deficiency. Treatment with either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 was recommended for deficient patients. At the present time, there is not sufficient evidence to recommend a screening individuals who are not at risk for deficiency or to prescribe vitamin D to attain the noncalcemic benefit for cardiovascular protection.

Note in the Endocrine Society guidelines that it includes D2 as being equal to D3. This was considered good practice since the 1940’s at resolution of the US government law suit against seventeen multinational corporations for conspiracy to manipulate the vitamin D market. According to Bruce Hollis research, pregnant women should take at least 4000 IU of vitamin D3 per day to reach sufficiency. Most vitamins for pregnancy only contain 1000 IU of D3.

It is my belief that the serum 25(OH)D level should be tested for any chronic disease, syndrome, or other conditions. There are some very serious diseases that were not included like tuberculosis. Vitamin D Wiki shows that vitamin D works on 47 health issues as of May, 2014 . Please take the time to comment. Women that I know that have taken serious consideration for vitamin D testing have had very successful outcomes. – Pandemic Survivor