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Xinge Tao Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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Yanbin Xue Computer Net Center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

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Rui Niu Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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Wenjing Lu Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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Huayan Yao Computer Net Center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

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Chunmei He Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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Bin Cui Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

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Changqin Liu Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Xiamen Key Laboratory for Clinical Efficacy and Evidence-Based Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Diabetes Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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Objective

The aim of this study was to compare the differences in incident population, comorbidities, and glucose-lowering drug prescriptions between newly diagnosed patients with early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and those with late-onset T2DM to provide real-world evidence for clinical practice.

Methods

This study was based on the Shanghai Hospital Link Database (SHLD). Anonymized electronic medical record (EHR) data from 2013 to 2021 were included in this study. Newly diagnosed patients with T2DM were defined as those without related diagnostic records or glucose-lowering medicine prescriptions in the past 3 years. Early-onset T2DM was defined as patients who were aged 18–40 years old at the first visit for T2DM to represent those who were born after the 1980s. And late-onset T2DM was defined as those aged 65–80 years old to represent those who were born in a relatively undeveloped period. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed to describe their incidence number, glucose-lowering drug prescriptions, and comorbidities at the first visit to the hospital between two T2DM groups.

Results

There were a total of 35,457 newly diagnosed patients with early-onset T2DM and 149,108 newly diagnosed patients with late-onset T2DM included in this study. Patients with late-onset T2DM constituted the majority and their number increased by 2.5% on average by years, while the number of patients with early-onset T2DM remained stable each year. Compared with late-onset T2DM patients, more early-onset T2DM patients had dyslipidemia at the first visit to hospitals (9.5% vs 7.7%, P < 0.01) despite their significant age differences. Patients with early-onset T2DM were more likely to use metformin (74.8% vs 46.5, P < 0.01), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DDP-4i) (16.7% vs 11.2%, P < 0.01), thiazolidinediones (TZD) (14.9% vs 8.4%, P < 0.01), sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2-i) (0.8% vs 0.3%, P < 0.01), and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) (3.7% vs 0.5%, P < 0.01) at their first visit to the hospital.

Conclusions

Different characteristics were observed between patients with early-onset T2DM and those with late-onset T2DM. Compared with patients with late-onset T2DM, those with early-onset T2DM were more prone to dyslipidemia and had novel organ-protective drugs prescribed.

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Michael Ulm University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
West Cancer Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

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Arvind V Ramesh White Station High School, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

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Keely M McNamara Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan

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Suriyan Ponnusamy University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

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Hironobu Sasano Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan

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Ramesh Narayanan University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
West Cancer Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

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Hormonal cancers affect over 400,000 men and women and contribute collectively to over 100,000 deaths in the United States alone. Thanks to advances in the understanding of these cancers at the molecular level and to the discovery of several disease-modifying therapeutics, the last decade has seen a plateauing or even a decreasing trend in the number of deaths from these cancers. These advanced therapeutics not only effectively slow the growth of hormonal cancers, but also provide an insight on how these cancers become refractory and evolve as an altogether distinct subset. This review summarizes the current therapeutic trends in hormonal cancers, with focus on prostate, breast and ovarian cancers. The review discusses the clinical drugs being used now, promising molecules that are going through various stages of development and makes some predictions on how the therapeutic landscape will shift in the next decade.

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Willem de Ronde Department of Internal Medicine, Spaarne Gasthuis, Haarlem, the Netherlands

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Diederik L Smit Department of Internal Medicine, Spaarne Gasthuis, Haarlem, the Netherlands

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This review summarizes 10 years experience with male abusers of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). The typical user of AAS is male, aged between 20 and 40 and lifting weights. Illegal AAS are cheap and easily obtained via internet or local suppliers. AAS are mostly used in cycles with a duration between 6 and 18 weeks. Most AAS cycles contain multiple agents, used simultaneously in a dose vastly exceeding a substitution dose. A variety of other performance and image-enhancing drugs are commonly used, including human growth hormone, thyroid hormone, tamoxifen, clomiphene citrate and human chorionic gonadotrophin. Short-term clinical and biochemical side effects are well established. Long-term side effects are uncertain, but may include heart failure, mood-and anxiety disorders, hypogonadism and subfertility. We share our views on the management of common health problems associated with AAS abuse.

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Enrique Soto-Pedre Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

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Paul J Newey Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

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John S Bevan JJR Macleod Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (Mac-DEM), Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

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Graham P Leese Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

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Purpose

High serum prolactin concentrations have been associated with adverse health outcomes in some but not all studies. This study aimed to examine the morbidity and all-cause mortality associated with hyperprolactinaemia.

Methods

A population-based matched cohort study in Tayside (Scotland, UK) from 1988 to 2014 was performed. Record-linkage technology was used to identify patients with hyperprolactinaemia that were compared to an age–sex-matched cohort of patients free of hyperprolactinaemia. The number of deaths and incident admissions with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, breast cancer, bone fractures and infectious conditions were compared by the survival analysis.

Results

Patients with hyperprolactinaemia related to pituitary tumours had no increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bone fractures, all-cause cancer or breast cancer. Whilst no increased mortality was observed in patients with pituitary microadenomas (HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 0.79–3.44), other subgroups including those with pituitary macroadenomas and drug-induced and idiopathic hyperprolactinaemia demonstrated an increased risk of death. Individuals with drug-induced hyperprolactinaemia also demonstrated increased risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease and bone fracture. However, these increased risks were not associated with the degree of serum prolactin elevation (Ptrend > 0.3). No increased risk of cancer was observed in any subgroup.

Conclusions

No excess morbidity was observed in patients with raised prolactin due to pituitary tumours. Although the increased morbidity and mortality associated with defined patient subgroups are unlikely to be directly related to the elevation in serum prolactin, hyperprolactinaemia might act as a biomarker for the presence of some increased disease risk in these patients.

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Shruti Khare Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Anurag R Lila Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Hiren Patt Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Chaitanya Yerawar Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Manjunath Goroshi Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Tushar Bandgar Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Nalini S Shah Department of Endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai 400012, India

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Macroprolactinomas are the most common functional pituitary tumours. Hypotheses proposed to explain predominance of large tumours in males are: i) diagnostic delay, as hyperprolactinaemia remains under recognised in males and ii) gender-specific difference in tumour proliferation indices. Our study objectives are to compare gender differences in clinical, biochemical, radiological features, management outcomes and cabergoline responsiveness in macroprolactinomas. Drug resistance was defined as failure to achieve prolactin normalisation and >50% reduction in tumour volume with cabergoline (3.5 mg/week dose for minimum 6 months duration). The baseline characteristics of 100 patients (56 females and 44 males) with macroprolactinoma were analysed. Drug responsiveness was analysed in 88 treatment naive patients, excluding 12 post-primary trans-sphenoidal surgery cases. We found that females (30.29±10.39 years) presented at younger mean age than males (35.23±9.91 years) (P<0.01). The most common presenting symptom was hypogonadism (oligo-amenorrhoea/infertility) in females (96.15%) and symptoms of mass effect (headache and visual field defects) in males (93.18%). Baseline mean prolactin levels were significantly lower in females (3094.36±6863.01 ng/ml) than males (7927.07±16 748.1 ng/ml) (P<0.001). Maximal tumour dimension in females (2.49±1.48 cm) was smaller than males (3.93±1.53 cm) (P<0.001). In 88 treatment naïve patients, 27.77% females and 35.29% males had resistant tumours (P=0.48). On subgrouping as per maximum tumour dimension (1.1–2 cm, 2.1–4 cm and >4 cm), gender difference in response rate was insignificant. In conclusion, macroprolactinomas are equally prevalent in both sexes. Macroprolactinomas in males predominantly present with symptoms of mass effects, as against females who present with symptoms of hypogonadism. Males harbor larger tumours but are equally cabergoline responsive as those in females.

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Eva Olga Melin Department of Clinical Sciences, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Lund, Sweden
Department of Research and Development, Region Kronoberg, Växjö, Sweden
Region Kronoberg, Primary Care, Växjö, Sweden

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Jonatan Dereke Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Diabetes Research Laboratory, Lund, Sweden

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Maria Thunander Department of Clinical Sciences, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Lund, Sweden
Department of Research and Development, Region Kronoberg, Växjö, Sweden
Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Central Hospital, Växjö, Sweden

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Magnus Hillman Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Diabetes Research Laboratory, Lund, Sweden

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Objective

Neuroinflammatory responses are implicated in depression. The aim was to explore whether depression in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) was associated with high circulating galectin-3, controlling for metabolic variables, s-creatinine, life style factors, medication and cardiovascular complications.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Methods

Participants were T1D patients (n = 283, 56% men, age 18–59 years, diabetes duration ≥1 year). Depression was assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-depression subscale. Blood samples, anthropometrics and blood pressure were collected, and supplemented with data from medical records and the Swedish National Diabetes Registry. Galectin-3 ≥2.562 µg/l, corresponding to the 85th percentile, was defined as high galectin-3.

Results

Median (quartile1, quartile3) galectin-3 (µg/l) was 1.3 (0.8, 2.9) for the 30 depressed patients, and 0.9 (0.5, 1.6) for the 253 non-depressed, P = 0.009. Depression was associated with high galectin-3 in all the 283 patients (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.5), in the 161 men (AOR 3.4), and in the 122 women (AOR 3.9). HbA1c, s-lipids, s-creatinine, blood pressure, obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, cardiovascular complications and drugs (antihypertensive, lipid lowering, oral antidiabetic drugs and antidepressants) were not associated with high galectin-3.

Conclusions

This is the first study to show an association between depression and galectin-3. Depression was the only explored parameter associated with high circulating galectin-3 levels in 283 T1D patients. High galectin-3 levels might contribute to the increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality observed in persons with depression. Potentially, in the future, treatment targeting galactin-3 might improve the prognosis for patients with high galectin-3 levels.

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Metin Guclu Health Sciences University, Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Training Hospital, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Bursa, Turkey

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Sinem Kiyici Health Sciences University, Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Training Hospital, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Bursa, Turkey

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Zulfiye Gul Department of Pharmacology, Uludag University Medical Faculty, Bursa, Turkey

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Sinan Cavun Department of Pharmacology, Uludag University Medical Faculty, Bursa, Turkey

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Aim

In the present study, we investigated the long-term effects of exenatide treatment on serum fasting ghrelin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods

Type 2 diabetic patients, who were using metformin with and without the other antihyperglycemic drugs on a stable dose for at least 3 months, were enrolled in the study. BMI>35 kg/m2 and HbA1c>7.0% were the additional inclusion criteria. Oral antihyperglycemic drugs, other than metformin, were stopped, and metformin treatment was continued at 2000 mg per day. Exenatide treatment was initiated at 5 µg per dose subcutaneously (sc) twice daily, and after one month, the dose of exenatide was increased to 10 µg twice daily. Changes in anthropometric variables, glycemic control, lipid parameters and total ghrelin levels were evaluated at baseline and following 12 weeks of treatment.

Results

Thirty-eight patients (male/female = 7/31) entered the study. The mean age of patients was 50.5 ± 8.8 years with a mean diabetes duration of 8.5 ± 4.9 years. The mean BMI was 41.6 ± 6.3 kg/m2 and the mean HbA1c of patients was 8.9 ± 1.4%. The mean change in the weight of patients was −5.6 kg and the percentage change in weight was −5.2 ± 3.7% following 12 weeks of treatment. BMI, fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels of patients were decreased significantly (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001; respectively), while there was no change in lipid parameters. Serum fasting ghrelin levels were significantly suppressed following 12 weeks of exenatide treatment compared with baseline values (328.4 ± 166.8 vs 245.3 ± 164.8 pg/mL) (P = 0.024).

Conclusion

These results suggest that the effects of exenatide on weight loss may be related with the suppression of serum fasting ghrelin levels, which is an orexigenic peptide.

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Caroline Culen University Clinic of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

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Diana-Alexandra Ertl University Clinic of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

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Katharina Schubert University Clinic of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

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Lisa Bartha-Doering University Clinic of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

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Gabriele Haeusler University Clinic of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

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Turner syndrome (TS), although considered a rare disease, is the most common sex chromosome abnormality in women, with an incident of 1 in 2500 female births. TS is characterized by distinctive physical features such as short stature, ovarian dysgenesis, an increased risk for heart and renal defects as well as a specific cognitive and psychosocial phenotype. Given the complexity of the condition, patients face manifold difficulties which increase over the lifespan. Furthermore, failures during the transitional phase to adult care result in moderate health outcomes and decreased quality of life. Guidelines on the optimal screening procedures and medical treatment are easy to find. However, recommendations for the treatment of the incriminating psychosocial aspects in TS are scarce. In this work, we first reviewed the literature on the cognitive and psychosocial development of girls with TS compared with normal development, from disclosure to young adulthood, and then introduce a psychosocial approach to counseling and treating patients with TS, including recommendations for age-appropriate psychological diagnostics. With this work, we aim to facilitate the integration of emphasized psychosocial care in state-of-the-art treatment for girls and women with TS.

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Stine Linding Andersen Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

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Stig Andersen Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
Department of Geriatrics, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

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The management of hyperthyroidism in pregnant patients has been a topic of raised clinical awareness for decades. It is a strong recommendation that overt hyperthyroidism of Graves’ disease in pregnant women should be treated to prevent complications. The consequences of hyperthyroidism in pregnancy are less studied than hypothyroidism, and a literature review illustrates that the main burden of evidence to support current clinical guidance emerges from early observations of severe complications in Graves’ disease patients suffering from untreated hyperthyroidism in the pregnancy. On the other hand, the more long-term consequences in children born to mothers with hyperthyroidism are less clear. A hypothesis of fetal programming by maternal hyperthyroidism implies that excessive levels of maternal thyroid hormones impair fetal growth and development. Evidence from experimental studies provides clues on such mechanisms and report adverse developmental abnormalities in the fetal brain and other organs. Only few human studies addressed developmental outcomes in children born to mothers with hyperthyroidism and did not consistently support an association. In contrast, large observational human studies performed within the last decade substantiate a risk of teratogenic side effects to the use of antithyroid drugs in early pregnancy. Thus, scientific and clinical practice are challenged by the distinct role of the various exposures associated with Graves’ disease including the hyperthyroidism per se, the treatment, and thyroid autoimmunity. More basic and clinical studies are needed to extend knowledge on the effects of each exposure, on the potential interaction between exposures and with other determinants, and on the underlying mechanisms.

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Stefan Pilz Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Armin Zittermann Clinic for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr University Bochum, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany

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Christian Trummer Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Verena Theiler-Schwetz Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Elisabeth Lerchbaum Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Martin H Keppel University Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria

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Martin R Grübler Department of Cardiology, Swiss Cardiovascular Center Bern, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

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Winfried März Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Medical Clinic V (Nephrology, Hypertensiology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Diabetology), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Ruperto-Carola University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Synlab Medical Center of Human Genetics Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

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Marlene Pandis Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

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Vitamin D testing and treatment is a subject of controversial scientific discussions, and it is challenging to navigate through the expanding vitamin D literature with heterogeneous and partially opposed opinions and recommendations. In this narrative review, we aim to provide an update on vitamin D guidelines and the current evidence on the role of vitamin D for human health with its subsequent implications for patient care and public health issues. Vitamin D is critical for bone and mineral metabolism, and it is established that vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets and osteomalacia. While many guidelines recommend target serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations of ≥50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL), the minimum consensus in the scientific community is that serum 25(OH)D concentrations below 25–30 nmol/L (10–12 ng/mL) must be prevented and treated. Using this latter threshold of serum 25(OH)D concentrations, it has been documented that there is a high worldwide prevalence of vitamin D deficiency that may require public health actions such as vitamin D food fortification. On the other hand, there is also reason for concern that an exploding rate of vitamin D testing and supplementation increases costs and might potentially be harmful. In the scientific debate on vitamin D, we should consider that nutrient trials differ from drug trials and that apart from the opposed positions regarding indications for vitamin D treatment we still have to better characterize the precise role of vitamin D for human health.

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