POOR VITAMIN D STATUS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON MUSCULOSKELETAL HEALTH: RESULTS OF THE D-FINES STUDY A.L.Darling 1, P.A.Lee 1, F.K.Hanjra 1, A.Osborn 1, S.Patel 2, A.Duckworth 3, P.Cardew 3, R. Gray 4, J.LBerry 5 S.A.Lanham-New 1 1University of Surrey, GU2 7XH, 2 St. Helier Hospital, SM5 1AA, 3 Guildford Nuffield Hospital, GU2 7RF, 4 Royal Surrey Hospital, GU2 7XX, 5 University of Manchester, M13 9WL AIMS INTRODUCTION The aim of this work was to examine differences in Lumbar Spine BMD and Grip Strength S in Asian and Caucasian pre and postmenopausal women according to their 25(OH)D status. METHODS The D-FINES study examined 373 Surrey-dwelling Caucasian (C) and Asian (A) women in four seasons of the year for diet, sunlight exposure, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and grip strength (GS). In the autumn season, lumbar spine bone mineral density (LSBMD) was also measured. They were assessed in four seasons of the year for vitamin D (25OHD) status, vitamin D dietary intake and UVB exposure. RESULTS For GS, controlling for lean arm mass, a statistically significant difference between the four ethnic/menopausal groups (F=24.851, p<0.001) was found but no significant within subjects effect of season (F= 0.503, p=0.681). There was no significant interaction between season and ethnic/menopausal group (F=0.303, p=0.974). Significant positive partial correlations were found for all women (p<0.001) in all seasons between 25(OH)D and GS. For all C as one group, significant positive correlations were found between 25(OH)D and GS in summer (r=0.307), autumn (r=0.223), winter (r=0.222) and spring (r=0.242), with p<0.001 for all seasons. However, this was not found for the A groups combined, or for the four groups separately (p>0.05). DISCUSSION Overall, LS BMD was significantly higher in individuals with 25(OH)D >75nmol/l compared to those with <39nmol/l. These findings suggest poor 25(OH)D may be detrimental to bone health, which could potentially translate into increased fracture risk long-term. Also, 25(OH)D was positively correlated with GS in all women in all seasons, indicating low 25(OH)D may decrease GS, most likely via poorer muscle function. These findings are a cause for public health concern and certainly warrants further investigation. This work is funded by the Food Standards Agency (N05064)- The views expressed are the authors’ own Vitamin D, Food Intake, Nutrition and Exposure to Sunlight in Southern England References 1. Hypponen E, Power C. (2007) Hypovitaminosis D in British adults at age 45 y: nationwide cohort study of dietary and lifestyle predictors. Am J Clin Nutr (85) Roy, D.K., Berry, J.L., Rye, S.P., Adams, J.E., Swarbrick,C.M., King, Y., Silman, A.J., and O’Neill, T.W. (2007) Vitamin D status and bone mass in UK South Asian women Bone (40) Shaw N.J. and Pal, B.R. (2002) Vitamin D deficiency in UK Asian families: activating a new concern Archives of Disease in Childhood (86) Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem in the UK (1) and is especially widespread in Asian women (2) and their families (3). There is a considerable lack of data examining poor vitamin D status on bone health and muscle function in different UK ethnic groups. *= significantly lower (p<0.05) than 75nmol/l+ group Figure 1: Lumbar Spine BMD by 25(OH)D- Autumn When women were grouped by 25(OH)D (<30 nmol/l, nmol/l; 40-74nmol/l; 75nmol/l+), ANCOVA adjusting for BMI showed a significant difference in LS BMD between the groups for summer (p=0.042), autumn (p=0.002) winter (p=0.028) and spring (p=0.019) 25(OH)D. The 25(OH)D 75nmol/l. Figure 2: