A Dutch study with community-dwelling older adults showed that sun exposure, vitamin D intake and vitamin D-related genes substantially contributed to the variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and of those three factors, sun exposure was the most important ( 6). The Swedish Food Agency recommends that all people over 75 years take an oral daily vitamin D supplement of 20 micrograms to ensure an adequate intake ( 5). Vitamin D deficiency is common in older people living in nursing homes in the Scandinavian countries ( 1– 4).

ConclusionĪctive encouragement to spend time outdoors during summertime improved the levels of serum 25(OH)D and self-perceived mental health significantly in older people in nursing homes and could complement or replace oral vitamin D supplementation in the summer. In the control group, there was no difference in mental health. The intervention group reported better self-perceived mental health after the summer compared to before the summer (p=0.015). In the control group, there was no significant change.

In the intervention group, the 25(OH)D levels increased significantly during the summer (p=0.011). In the intervention group, the baseline median (interquartile range (IQR)) of serum 25(OH)D was 42.5 (23.0) nmol/l and in the control group it was 52.0 (36.0) nmol/l. Data from SF-36 questionnaires measuring vitality and mental health were used for the analyses.

We analyzed serum 25(OH)D before and after the summer. every day for two months during the summer of 2018. The intervention group was encouraged to go outside for 20–30 minutes between 11 a.m. DesignĪ cluster randomized intervention trial. Our aim was to explore whether active encouragement to spend time outdoors could increase the levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and increase the mental well-being of nursing home residents. Older people are recommended to take oral vitamin D supplements, but the main source of vitamin D is sunlight.

Download what vitamin is the sun