Vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) < 50 nmol/l or 20 ng/ml), is common in Europe and the Middle East. It occurs in < 20 % of the population in Northern Europe, in 30-60% in Western, Southern and Eastern Europe and up to 80 % in Middle East countries. Severe deficiency (serum 25(OH)D < 30 nmol/l or 12 ng/ml) is found in > 10 % of Europeans. The ECTS advises that the measurement of serum 25(OH)D be standardized e.g. by the Vitamin D Standardization Program. Risk groups

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... de young children, adolescents, pregnant women, older people, especially the institutionalized, and non-western immigrants. Consequences of vitamin D deficiency include mineralization defects and lower bone mineral density causing fractures. Extra-skeletal consequences may be muscle weakness, falls and acute respiratory infection, and are the subject of large ongoing clinical trials. The ECTS advises to improve vitamin D status by food fortification and the use of vitamin D supplements in risk groups. Fortification of foods by adding vitamin D to dairy products, bread and cereals can improve the vitamin D status of the whole population, but quality assurance monitoring is needed to prevent intoxication. Specific risk groups such as infants and children up to 3 years, pregnant women, older persons and non-western immigrants should routinely receive vitamin D supplements. Future research should include genetic studies to better define individual vulnerability for vitamin D deficiency, and Mendelian randomization studies to address the effect of vitamin D deficiency on long term non-skeletal outcomes such as cancer.