Vitamin D status of northern indigenous people of Russia leading traditional and “modernized” way of life

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Andrew Kozlov, Yulia Khabarova, Galina Vershubsky, Yulia Ateeva, Vadim Ryzhaenkov
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2014
• Subjects: 25OHD; nutrition; lifestyle; reindeer herders; circumpolar regions; Arctic; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; nenets
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v73.26038; https://doaj.org/article/68e77298c62c4253b40174225232258c

Background: Vitamin D status in groups of northern indigenous people of Russia leading close to traditional (seminomadic reindeer herding), post-traditional (in settlements) or “modernized” (in towns) way of life was analysed. Design: The survey study groups consisted of 178 Nenets and Komi aged 18–60 living in the Arctic (66–67°N). Urban Komi, Udmurts and Komi-Permiaks (n=150) living in a non-Arctic area (57–61°N) formed a control group. The concentration of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), as a transport form of vitamin D, was assessed by enzyme immunoassay analysis. Results: The group average 25OHD levels in both rural and urban Arctic residents are within the range of values seen in the non-Arctic urban subjects adjusted for season: 39.7–47.7 nmol/l. Abandoning traditional lifestyle associates with lower vitamin D levels in indigenous Arctic people. Mean±standard deviation 25OHD values among Nenets were lower in those living in the administrative centre (a big settlement) with a population of 1,460 (32.2±12.90 nmol/l) than in the residents of small settlements (39.6±14.08 nmol/l), and in reindeer herders (42.4±13.45 nmol/l; p<0.05 in both cases). Komi townspeople had lower 25OHD concentrations (47.7±12.00 nmol/l) than Komi reindeer herders (68.7±25.20; p<0.01). Conclusions: The transition from seminomadic to post-traditional and “modernized” way of life has led to a decrease in the consumption of traditional foods among the indigenous people of the Russian Arctic. Our data support the notion that the traditional northern diet promotes healthy vitamin D levels, while adherence to the “western” type of diet correlates with a lower 25OHD concentration.