Vitamin D: policy context - ARCHIVED

Sunlight is our main source of vitamin D: the Scottish Government advises that unprotected Scottish sun exposure for up to a maximum of 15 minutes is a safe way to increase vitamin D levels for all, but that exposure for any longer will increase skin cancer risk.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (2016) recommends that individuals should have serum concentrations of vitamin D above a ‘population protective level’ of 25 nmol/L throughout the year.  This concentration is considered sufficient to prevent rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.  Elsewhere, serum concentrations below 50 nmol/L are considered to be deficient (Bischoff-Ferrari et al. 2006), and higher concentrations such as 75 nmol/L have been recommended for optimal bone health (Hypponen and Power, 2007). 

Scottish Government recommendation on vitamin D supplementation

The Scottish Government recommends that supplementation should be considered for every adult and child, particularly over winter. During winter, the recommended level of supplementation is 10 micrograms per day, except for infants under one year of age, where it is slightly lower. Additionally, some population groups - pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five years of age, people with limited sunlight exposure, and people with darker skin – are recommended to take vitamin D supplements all year around, not just in winter.

This guidance is in line with the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). Free supplements are available for eligible women and children under the Healthy Start scheme. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all vulnerable people who were shielding were offered a free four months’ supply of vitamin D supplements by the Scottish Government in October 2020, in recognition that these individuals will have had restricted exposure to sunlight. More than 71,000 individuals opted to receive the supplements.