Vitamin D (also called calciferol) has several forms, etc.. metabolites. When the vitamin was discovered in 1922 it was called a vitamin, but it is not really a vitamin, because. that the body can produce it themselves - with exposure to sunlight. When sunlight synthesize vitamin to its active metabolite, while the intake of food will be stored in adipose tissue as a kind of stock that can be further converted to the active metabolite. Vitamin D is purely molecularly structured as a hormone or. namely a secosteroid, also because of its function in the body.




Vitamin D is formed in the skin under sunlight (UVB radiation) and also taken up in the intestine from vitamin D-containing nutrition or supplements. Lack of vitamin D can cause rickets in children (rickets) and in adults, a condition called osteomalacia, which is characterized by painful and weak pelvic muscles especially in the party.

We distinguish between light to moderate and severe vitamin D deficiency. In recent years, scientists have been aware that the easy vitamin D deficiency is frequent, especially among the elderly, including nursing home patients and patients with hip fractures. The condition is also called vitamin D insufficiency and leads to increased risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Severe vitamin D deficiency is rare in our part of the world and is caused when usually a bowel disease with inadequate absorption of nutrients (malabsorption) or very one-sided diet.