Canadian women unaware of their vitamin D levels

A new survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, reveals Canadian women are unaware of their vitamin D levels. According to the survey sponsored by Marc Sorenson, Ed.D, 97 per cent of the 516 Canadian women surveyed didn't know their vitamin D levels.

The survey also showed 77 per cent of women are not having a regular vitamin D blood test, also know as a calcidiol test.

"There is a call to action for vitamin D for all Canadians. Despite the numerous stories and research done on vitamin D, the message isn't reaching Canadians, especially women, on the importance of getting their levels checked and how it relates to their overall health, especially breast cancer," said Marc Sorenson. "Vitamin D is critical to our health, and almost nobody knows if they have enough or how to get it. And, it is especially important to know everything you can about vitamin D as we head into the colder and darker winter months."

The cross-Canada survey conducted on behalf of Sorenson found almost 80 per cent of Canadian women have never had a conversation with their doctor about vitamin D as it relates to cancer prevention and overall health. Only 3 per cent of Canadian women surveyed know their vitamin D levels.

"All Canadians should be asking their doctors about vitamin D and check their levels. This research shows us that Canadians continue to be misinformed and uneducated about the importance of vitamin D - and not knowing vitamin D levels is like not knowing your cholesterol levels, it can create any number of health issues down the road," said Sorenson. "Over 105 diseases, including breast cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease, are correlated to low vitamin D levels and the best source of vitamin D is the sun."

Ipsos-Reid Survey Methodology

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Marc Sorensen from October 21 to 23, 2008. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 519 Canadian women were interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-4.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of women in Canada been polled. The margin of error is larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.