Table 1.
Geometric mean serum 25(OH)D level and weighted prevalence of vitamin D categories by socio-demographic, geographic and lifestyle characteristics in Nunavimmiut (Inuit living in Nunavik, Québec, Canada; n 1,155) participants in the Q2017 Health Survey
| n | Serum 25(OH) D levels geometric mean in nmol/l | 95 % CI | T-test/Kruskal-Wallis P-value | % serum 25(OH)D < 75 and ≥50 nmol/l (n 344) | % serum 25(OH)D < 50 and ≥30 nmol/l (n 256) | % serum 25(OH)D < 30 nmol/l (n 79) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | |||||||
| 16–19 | 203 | 52·5 | 49·7, 55·6 | <0·001 | 36·6 | 38·0 | 6·8 |
| 20–39 | 466 | 56·3 | 54·1, 58·7 | 36·9 | 26·4 | 9·3 | |
| 40–59 | 369 | 75·0 | 71·6, 78·6 | 25·4 | 17·3 | 5·7 | |
| 60+ | 117 | 110·9 | 103·0, 119·3 | 10·0 | 3·3 | 0·9 | |
| All ages | 1,155 | 65·3 | 63·5, 67·2 | 30·9 | 22·2 | 6·8 | |
| Sex | |||||||
| M | 389 | 65·4 | 62·3, 68·7 | 0·90 | 30·6 | 25·3 | 6·9 |
| F | 766 | 65·2 | 63·0, 67·6 | 31·1 | 21·2 | 7·1 | |
| Education | |||||||
| Grade 6 or less | 107 | 86·4 | 77·9, 95·8 | <0·001 | 17·3 | 12·3 | 6·8 |
| Some secondary school (Grade 7–10) | 693 | 62·4 | 60·2, 64·8 | 30·8 | 23·9 | 8·4 | |
| Secondary school (Grade 11) or higher | 330 | 63·5 | 60·4, 66·7 | 36·9 | 26·9 | 4·6 | |
| Income (per year) | |||||||
| <$15 000 | 402 | 60·1 | 57·3, 63·0 | <0·001 | 30·9 | 27·0 | 8·5 |
| $15 000–$25 000 | 198 | 70·2 | 65·4, 75·5 | 24·3 | 21·3 | 5·1 | |
| $25 000–$60 000 | 242 | 67·6 | 63·6, 71·8 | 34·7 | 20·8 | 5·8 | |
| >$60 000 | 145 | 70·9 | 65·5, 76·6 | 27·1 | 24·6 | 6·8 | |
| Community size | |||||||
| Large (pop. ≥1500) | 583 | 58·7 | 56·3, 61·1 | <0·001 | 32·7 | 25·7 | 9·4 |
| Small (pop. <1500) | 572 | 72·8 | 70·1, 75·6 | 25·8 | 20·0 | 3·7 | |
| Region | |||||||
| Hudson Bay | 376 | 68·0 | 64·8, 71·4 | <0·001 | 28·1 | 20·8 | 5·1 |
| Hudson Strait | 277 | 52·4 | 49·3, 55·6 | 32·6 | 32·9 | 15·7 | |
| Ungava Bay | 502 | 71·5 | 61·7, 74·5 | 33·0 | 19·6 | 3·1 | |
| Community latitude by tertile | |||||||
| Tertile 1 (55·3–58·5°N) | 409 | 63·7 | 60·8, 66·8 | <0·001 | 35·1 | 28·1 | 5·3 |
| Tertile 2 (58·6–60·1°N) | 407 | 74·8 | 71·6, 78·2 | 30·9 | 14·0 | 3·5 | |
| Tertile 3 (60·2–62·4°N) | 363 | 57·1 | 54·0, 60·3 | 25·6 | 27·8 | 13·0 | |
| Interview/blood draw month | |||||||
| August | 264 | 64·9 | 61·2, 68·8 | 0·11 | 33·5 | 24·7 | 6·0 |
| September | 785 | 66·0 | 63·7, 68·4 | 28·6 | 21·9 | 8·1 | |
| October | 106 | 61·0 | 56·1, 66·3 | 39·1 | 29·0 | 2·1 | |
| Food security status * | |||||||
| Food secure | 249 | 66·4 | 62·4, 70·7 | 0·48 | 33·6 | 18·6 | 8·9 |
| Marginal food insecurity | 125 | 66·2 | 60·9, 72·0 | 24·1 | 23·0 | 4·0 | |
| Moderate food insecurity | 523 | 65·1 | 62·4, 67·8 | 31·1 | 24·8 | 6·0 | |
| Severe food insecurity | 204 | 62·5 | 58·4, 66·8 | 32·8 | 25·5 | 7·8 | |
| BMI | |||||||
| <18·5 kg/m | 26 | 60·4 | 46·6, 78·3 | 0·35 | 28·3 | 10·9 | 18·7 |
| ≥18·5–<25 kg/m2 | 463 | 64·0 | 61·1, 67·0 | 27·0 | 27·6 | 7·3 | |
| ≥25–<30 kg/m2 | 303 | 68·4 | 64·9, 72·0 | 34·5 | 17·9 | 4·7 | |
| ≥30 kg/m2 | 363 | 64·8 | 61·6, 68·3 | 33·6 | 22·4 | 7·7 | |
| Smoking | |||||||
| Not at all | 252 | 71·1 | 66·8, 75·6 | 0·003 | 29·4 | 18·3 | 7·4 |
| Occasionally | 96 | 68·5 | 63·0, 74·4 | 29·7 | 26·5 | 4·7 | |
| Daily | 807 | 63·3 | 61·1, 65·5 | 31·4 | 24·3 | 7·1 | |
| Harvesting or traditional activities | |||||||
| Did not participate in harvesting or traditional activities | 119 | 58·1 | 53·1, 63·7 | 0·003 | 31·9 | 25·8 | 11·8 |
| Participated in harvesting or traditional activities | 1,033 | 66·3 | 64·3, 68·3 | 30·6 | 23·1 | 6·4 | |
| Fishing | |||||||
| Did not fish at least once per month every season for past year | 918 | 64·0 | 62·0, 66·2 | 0·005 | 31·8 | 23·2 | 8·1 |
| Fished at least once per month every season for the past year | 277 | 70·7 | 66·6, 75·1 | 29·5 | 23·4 | 3·2 | |
| Hunting | |||||||
| Did not hunt at least once per month every season for past year | 605 | 62·9 | 60·4, 65·4 | 0·011 | 31·2 | 24·4 | 8·4 |
| Hunted at least once per month every season for the past year | 542 | 68·0 | 65·2, 70·8 | 28·4 | 22·6 | 5·7 | |
| Overall dietary profile | |||||||
| Market food dominant | 489 | 62·6 | 59·9, 65·4 | 0·014 | 31·8 | 24·3 | 8·4 |
| Country food dominant | 116 | 72·9 | 66·7, 79·6 | 26·1 | 22·9 | 3·5 | |
| Diverse consumption | 278 | 66·1 | 62·6, 69·9 | 31·6 | 21·2 | 7·0 | |
| Low consumption | 272 | 66·5 | 62·6, 70·6 | 31·2 | 24·0 | 6·4 | |
| Country food dietary profile | |||||||
| None | 368 | 58·8 | 55·9, 62·0 | <0·001 | 30·7 | 28·0 | 10·3 |
| Low | 520 | 67·6 | 64·8, 70·6 | 31·4 | 20·2 | 6·8 | |
| Moderate | 171 | 68·2 | 63·7, 73·1 | 34·5 | 20·8 | 3·8 | |
| High | 101 | 74·2 | 60·6, 72·8 | 24·5 | 25·0 | 3·1 |
25(OH)D, 25 hydroxyvitamin D.
*
Food security status based on an adapted version of the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module and determined using the PROOF food security categories (Tarasuk et al., 2013).