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. 2012 Oct 26;17(1):122–130. doi: 10.1017/S1368980012004703

Table 2.

Comparison of participants’ characteristics by sex and vitamin D status: adolescents (n 2062; 1095 boys, 967 girls) aged 10–18 years, Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2008–2009

Boys Girls
Serum 25(OH)D (nmol/l) Serum 25(OH)D (nmol/l)
<27·5 ≥ 27·5 <27·5 ≥ 27·5
Mean or % sd Mean or % sd P value Mean or % sd Mean or % sd P value
Age* (%) <0·0001 <0·0001
Elementary school 13·3 38·4 18·1 39·1
Junior high school 39·8 36·0 36·9 36·4
Senior high school 46·9 25·6 45·0 24·5
Season† (%) <0·0001 <0·0001
Winter 40·6 22·6 42·9 22·6
Spring 43·0 20·2 40·3 18·7
Summer 7·0 28·8 7·4 32·4
Autumn 9·4 28·4 9·4 26·3
Obesity level‡ (%) 0·9835 0·1137
Normal weight 84·9 85·5 88·6 85·1
Overweight 10·3 9·8 5·4 10·5
Obese 4·8 4·7 6·0 4·4
Region§ (%) 0·0067 0·1620
Urban 78·1 66·2 70·5 64·6
Rural 21·9 33·8 29·5 35·4
Sufficient Ca intake∥ (%) 0·0314 0·2438
No 96·9 91·1 90·6 93·3
Yes 4·4 8·9 9·4 6·7
Daily Ca intake¶ (%RNI) 46·8 31·0 58·4 36·3 0·0180 50·7 32·4 50·0 38·1 0·8264
Moderate physical activity** (%) 0·3799 0·0528
No 46·2 41·9 65·7 56·6
Yes 53·8 58·1 34·3 43·3
Paternal 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 38·7 11·2 52·4 16·5 <0·0001 43·9 14·5 55·4 18·2 <0·0001
Maternal 25(OH)D (nmol/l) 31·4 11·7 41·4 14·2 <0·0001 31·7 11·2 44·2 15·2 <0·0001
Paternal 25(OH)D (%)
<50 nmol/l 86·1 48·9 <0·0001 74·7 46·8 <0·0001
≥50 nmol/l 13·9 51·1 25·3 53·2
Maternal 25(OH)D (%)
<50 nmol/l 96·2 75·1 <0·0001 93·7 70·4 <0·0001
≥50 nmol/l 3·8 24·9 6·4 29·6

25(OH)D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

*All participants were grouped as elementary school (age 10–12 years), junior high school (age 13–15 years) and senior high school (age 16–18 years) according to their age.

†Seasons are noted as spring (March to May), summer (June to August), autumn (September to November) and winter (December to February).

‡Obesity level was determined according to the age- and sex-specific BMI percentile(9): normal weight (BMI <85th percentile), overweight (BMI ≥85th percentile and <95th percentile) and obese (BMI ≥95th percentile).

§Regions were grouped as rural areas (Gangwon, Chungbuk, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam and Jeju) and urban areas (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan).

∥Sufficient Ca intake was indicated as ‘yes’ when daily Ca intake of the participants was equal to or greater than the Recommended Daily Allowance(10).

¶Daily Ca intake was presented as a percentage of the Recommended Nutrient Intake (%RNI) for Koreans(10).

**Moderate physical activity was indicated as ‘yes’ when the participant engaged in moderate-intensity physical activity for more than 20 min at a time and more than 3 times/week.