Rajakumar Kumaravel, Greenspan Susan L, Thomas Stephen B, Holick Michael F
Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa 15213, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2007 Oct;97(10):1746-54. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.091736. Epub 2007 Aug 29.
Rickets, the state of vitamin D deficiency, has reemerged as a potential problem in the United States. At the dawn of the 20th century, rickets was pervasive among infants residing in the polluted cities of Europe and the northeastern United States. Important milestones in the history of rickets were the understanding that photosynthesized vitamin D and dietary vitamin D were similar, the discernment of the antirachitic potency of artificial and natural ultraviolet rays, and the discovery that ultraviolet irradiation could render various foods antirachitic. Clinical guidelines were instituted to promote sensible exposure to sunlight and artificial ultraviolet radiation. In addition, irradiated ergosterol from yeast became the major vitamin D source for food fortification and the treatment of rickets, leading to a public health campaign to eradicate rickets by the 1930s. We review the sequence and turn of events pertaining to the discovery of vitamin D and the strategies for the eradication of the reemerging rickets problem.
佝偻病，即维生素D缺乏症，在美国再度成为一个潜在问题。在20世纪初，佝偻病在居住于欧洲污染城市和美国东北部的婴儿中普遍存在。佝偻病历史上的重要里程碑包括：认识到光合作用产生的维生素D与膳食维生素D相似；辨别出人工和天然紫外线的抗佝偻病效力；发现紫外线照射可使各种食物具有抗佝偻病作用。随后制定了临床指南，以促进合理的阳光照射和人工紫外线辐射暴露。此外，来自酵母的辐照麦角固醇成为食品强化和治疗佝偻病的主要维生素D来源，引发了一场在20世纪30年代根除佝偻病的公共卫生运动。我们回顾了与维生素D发现相关的一系列事件以及根除再度出现的佝偻病问题的策略。
