Summary: The prevalent deficiency of vitamin D is a social problem that affects all age groups. Due to adverse health effects, the supplementation with vitamin D should be carried out in the whole healthy population. The use of vitamin D in the amount of 800 to 2,000 IU/d; for people between the age of 18 to 65 should be used from September to May. For people over 65 years old throughout the year, increasing the dose for people > 70 years to 4,000 IU/d The routine determination of 25(OH)D before the start of supplementation is unnecessary, as long as the dose of vit. D falls within the recommended limits.
People with vitamin D deficiency should be treated with vitamin D at doses of 4,000–10 000 IU/d, while controlling the 25(OH)D concentration in the blood. The treatment should take into consideration the degree of the deficiency, the presence or absence of clinical symptoms, the earlier use of vitamin D, other present diseases and drugs disturbing the absorption of vitamin D from the gastrointestinal tract or transformation in the liver and kidneys, as well as data indicating the possibility of hypersensitivity to vitamin D. The treatment of Vitamin D deficiency consists of 2 phases; saturation and chronic. In the saturation phase, vitamin D is administered daily or as a cumulative dose, once or twice a week for 6 to 12 weeks. The total treatment dose should not exceed 300 000 IU and a once weekly dose should not exceed 60 000 IU. The choice of the saturation method depends on the patientís compliance with the treatment method and the availability of vitamin D supplements. After decreasing the vitamin D deficiency, lower doses of vitamin D should be used to ensure 25(OH)D in the blood 30–50 ng/ml.