[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40319-40320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-14209]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Conference: Vitamin D and Health in the 21st Century--An Update 
Notice

    Notice is hereby given of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) conference: Vitamin D and Health in 
the 21st Century--An Update to be held September 5-6, 2007, in the 
Masur Auditorium of the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (Building 
10) at the NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.

[[Page 40320]]

The conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. on September 5 and 6 and will be 
open to the public.
    Vitamin D is a unique nutrient because its needs can be met in two 
distinct ways: by endogenous production from sun exposure or from foods 
and dietary supplements. In addition to calcium metabolism, 
accumulating evidence indicates other roles in human health, including 
immune function, reduction of inflammation, and effects on cell 
proliferation, differentiation, and programmed cell death. Even as its 
importance to health expands, concerns about the sufficiency of vitamin 
D in the population are growing. Reports of rickets (the classic 
vitamin D deficiency disease) and low blood levels of the biomarker of 
vitamin D status--25(OH)D--among various subgroups of the U.S. 
population raise concerns about current public health approaches to 
ensure vitamin D adequacy.
    The first NIH conference on Vitamin D and Health in the 21st 
Century was held in 2003. Subtitled Bone and Beyond, it considered 
knowledge regarding the measurement and maintenance of vitamin D status 
and the development of programs to reduce the prevalence of 
insufficiency. It also identified a number of research needs, including 
the following:
     Better definitions of vitamin D status with meaningful 
cutoff values and biomarkers that have functional relevance and 
validated assessment methods;
     Dose-response relationships between sunlight exposure and 
endogenous vitamin D synthesis with specific health outcomes in various 
racial/ethnic groups;
     Investigations of genetic polymorphisms to identify 
tissue-specific roles of vitamin D;
     Exploration of the relationships of obesity and weight 
loss on vitamin D status;
     Improved methods for assessing vitamin D intakes, 
particularly from fortified foods and supplements;
     Biomarkers and functional outcomes for bone and non-bone 
tissue that reflect vitamin D status; and
     A systematic evidence-based review to determine the 
current state of knowledge.
    Progress has been made in addressing many of these research needs. 
However, since the 2003 conference, new issues have been raised. For 
example, reports indicate a growing prevalence of vitamin D 
insufficiency/deficiency in the U.S. population. They also suggest that 
vitamin D inadequacy occurs at blood levels previously viewed as 
adequate. It is time to assess current knowledge of the efficacy and 
safety of vitamin D to identify new research needs that will help 
ensure optimal vitamin D status across the life cycle. For this reason, 
the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements will sponsor this conference on 
Vitamin D and Health in the 21st Century--An Update, September 5-6, 
2007, in Bethesda, Maryland. The goals of the conference are as 
follows:
     Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of vitamin D across 
the life cycle, considering the evidence-based review produced through 
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence-based 
Practice Center Program and research and related tools that have become 
available since the 2003 NIH conference, Vitamin D and Health in the 
21st Century--Bone and Beyond;
     Presentation of current data/research on vitamin D status, 
sources of vitamin D, and functional outcomes across the life cycle; 
and
     Identification of knowledge gaps, methodological 
challenges, and research needs on vitamin D production, activation, 
metabolism, and status assessment across the life cycle.
    The two-day conference will open with a review of vitamin D 
production, bioavailability, metabolism, active forms, functions, and 
metabolic turnover. Vitamin D's effects on health outcomes across the 
life cycle and measurement of status will also be critically evaluated. 
Other topics to be addressed include the impact of dietary intakes and 
sun exposure on blood levels of 25(OH)D and its relationship to vitamin 
D status.
    At the conference, invited experts will present information 
pertinent to these topics and goals. The findings of the AHRQ evidence-
based review on vitamin D will also be presented. Each of the four 
sessions will include a panel of the presenters who will address 
questions relevant to the session topic and suggest future research 
needs. Attendees will have opportunities to engage in discussions with 
the panels. Each panel's summary presentation will become part of the 
conference record and be used by organizers to compile conference 
proceedings and to inform NIH's research agenda.
    This conference will be of interest to scientists and health 
professionals with a background and/or interest in vitamin D. 
Application has been made for Continuing Professional Education Units 
from the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
    Advance information about the conference and conference 
registration materials are available on the conference Web site: http://vitaminDandhealth.od.nih.gov. For additional assistance you may 
contact Jeanette Naiman at the American Institutes for Research: 
[email protected] or 301-592-8600. American Institutes for Research's 
mailing address is 10720 Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20901.


    Please Note: The NIH has instituted security measures to ensure 
the safety of NIH employees and property. All visitors must be 
prepared to show a photo ID upon request. Visitors may be required 
to pass through a metal detector and have bags, backpacks, or purses 
inspected or x-rayed as they enter NIH buildings. For more 
information about security measures at NIH, please visit the Web 
site at http://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm.


    Dated: July 13, 2007.
Raynard S. Kington,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
 [FR Doc. E7-14209 Filed 7-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P