Vitamin D Status among Women of Different Asian Subgroups Initiating Osteoporosis Therapy

Among the 1,866 Asian women (901 Filipina women, 654 Chinese women, and 311 Japanese women) who had vitamin D assessment prior to initiation of osteoporosis therapy, Filipina women had a lower prevalence of vitamin D deficiency compared to Chinese women, despite higher body mass index (BMI). In multivariable analyses that adjusted for age, BMI, and smoking status, the relative risk (RR) of low vitamin D was significantly higher for Chinese women (RR 1.4, 95% confidence interval 1.1–1.7) but not for Japanese women (RR 1.2, 95% confidence interval 0.9–1.6). The 40% higher risk of low vitamin D in Chinese women compared to Filipina women emphasizes the importance of disaggregating the Asian race when examining nutritional health attributes.