ИСТИНА

Vitamin D status in groups of Northern Indigenous people of Russia leading close to traditional (semi-nomadic reindeer herding), post-traditional (in settlements) or “modernized” (in towns) way of life was analyzed. The survey study groups consisted of 328 Nenets and Komi aged 18-60 years living in the Arctic (66…67ºN). Urban Komi (n=101) living in non-Arctic area (57…61ºN) formed a control group. The concentration of serum 25OHD, as a transport form of vitamin D, was assessed by enzyme immunoassay analysis. The group average 25OHD levels in both rural and urban Arctic residents are within the range of the values seen in the non-Arctic urban subjects adjusted for season: 39.7…47.7 nmol/l. Abandoning traditional lifestyle associates with lower vitamin D levels in the Indigenous Arctic people. Mean ± standard deviation 25OHD values among Nenets were lower in those living in the administrative center (a big settlement) with a population of 1460 (32.2±12.90 nmol/l) than in the residents of small settlements (39.6±14.08 nmol/l), and in reindeer herders (42.4±13.45 nmol/l). Komi townspeople had lower 25OHD concentration (47.7±12.00 nmol/l) than Komi reindeer herders (68.7±25.20). The transition from semi-nomadic to post-traditional and “modernized” way of life has lead to a decrease in consuming traditional foods among the Indigenous people of the Russian Arctic. Our data support the notion that the traditional northern diet promotes healthy vitamin D levels, while adherence to the “western” type of diet correlates with a lower 25OHD concentration.