Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Screening for vitamin D deficiency is recommended for individuals at risk but not for the general population, with deficiency defined as serum 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml.
If you have risk factors like obesity, dark skin, malabsorption issues, or are elderly, get your Vitamin D levels checked. If you are generally healthy with no risk factors, routine screening is not recommended by current guidelines.
WeakQualifiesHIGH confidence
We recommend screening for vitamin D deficiency in individuals at risk for deficiency. We do not recommend population screening for vitamin D deficiency in individuals who are not at risk (1|QQQQ). Vitamin D deficiency is defined as a 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/liter).
Why this rating
Rated as a strong recommendation (1) based on high quality evidence (QQQQ).
Source
Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline
Michael F. Holick et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2011
DOI 10.1210/jc.2011-0385
clinical_guidelineCited 10,424×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Vitamin D supplementation (D2 or D3) is recommended for treating deficiency, with specific dosing protocols based on age and risk factors to achieve levels above 30 ng/ml.Limited
- Vitamin D supplementation is recommended for fall prevention, but not for cardiovascular disease prevention or death reduction in the general population.Limited
- Vitamin D deficiency is defined as serum 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml, and insufficiency as 21-29 ng/ml, with sufficiency targeted above 30 ng/ml for optimal bone health.Weak
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