"I didn't know I had vitamin D deficiency until I fainted at work": the silent deficiency growing among young people
Saskia, 23, played football four times a week and felt fit. Her tests showed a level that was "practically zero". In the UK, almost one in four young people aged 11 to 18 had this deficiency last year.
Photo: Salud3 / Imagen ilustrativa generada con IA · Imagen ilustrativa
Illustrative image: A young woman seen from behind, wrapped in a thick blanket on a window seat, holding a mug and looking at a grey winter sky over snowy rooftops, with a pair of dark gloves on the cushion beside her. It does not depict any real person.
Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 23, was at work when she suddenly collapsed. "I felt very dizzy, very nauseous, I had palpitations and felt very hot," she told the BBC. A special education teacher, she played football as a goalkeeper four times a week and felt in top shape.
What the tests found surprised her.
A level that was "practically zero"
According to the BBC, her symptoms that day were not directly linked to vitamin D, but later blood tests showed her level was so low it was "practically zero". She now takes supplements regularly and is back in goal.
She is not an isolated case. In the UK, according to National Diet and Nutrition Survey data cited by the BBC, last year almost a quarter of young people aged 11 to 18 were diagnosed with this deficiency, and the problem is especially concentrated among girls and young women.
Amaka, a 21-year-old student in Liverpool, started shaking while cooking dinner and ended up in the emergency room. Apart from tiredness, she had no other symptom: "I work and study, and I'm always tired," she said.
Why it is called "the silent disease"
"They call it the silent disease," paediatric endocrinologist Suma Uday told the BBC. Symptoms include fatigue and pain in the joints and bones, and they can go unnoticed or be mistaken for other things. "Basically, it silently erodes the bones, leaving them soft and prone to fractures," she added.
Long-term lack of vitamin D is linked to rickets in children and to osteomalacia, a softening of the bones, in adults. MedlinePlus, from the US National Library of Medicine, explains that this vitamin helps the body absorb calcium, one of the main building blocks of bone.
Uday warns of a "lifelong deficit" in women: it hits in adolescence, then in pregnancy and later the newborn.
Where vitamin D comes from and what you can do
Most of it is made by our own body when sunlight hits the skin. It also comes from some foods, such as oily fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel), egg yolk, liver and fortified products, or from supplements.
According to the BBC, the time of year, where you live, covering your skin and using sunscreen all play a role. People with darker skin need more intense light to make the same amount as people with lighter skin.
In the UK, the NHS advises considering a daily 10 microgram supplement in autumn and winter, when there is less sun, and warns that taking too much vitamin D over a long time can be harmful because it raises calcium in the blood. So it is not a good idea to take high doses on your own.
If you have persistent tiredness, bone pain or muscle weakness, or you spend almost all day indoors, see your doctor: they can decide whether you need a test or a supplement, and at what dose.
Read also: "Cara de ferritina": por qué no puedes detectar la falta de hierro mirándote al espejo · OMS: 1 de cada 4 adolescentes no tuvo ni un día activo en la última semana
Sources
For information only. It does not replace advice from a health professional. Medical disclaimer