Patients in West Yorkshire have been treated for vitamin D deficiencies more than 4,000 times in a year.
People in the county are increasingly likely to be treated in hospital for a lack of the vitamin, which is mostly sourced from sunlight.
There were 4,186 finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency in hospitals in the West Yorkshire area in 2015/16.
This was a 392% increase from 850 FCEs in 2011/12 and up from 2,652 in 2014/15.
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body . These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.
According to figures from NHS Digital, there were 10 FCEs with a primary or secondary diagnosis of rickets in the area in 2015/16, the lowest number in five years.
Across England, there were 82,918 FCEs for vitamin D deficiency in 2015/16, up 283% from 21,649 FCEs in 2011/12 and up from 59,428 in 2014/15.
This was an average of 15.4 FCEs per 10,000 people in 2015/16.
There were also 678 FCEs for rickets, up from 669 in 2014/15 and 2013/14, but down from 994 in 2011/12.
From about late March/early April to the end of September, most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight. The body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors.
However, between October and early March, people don’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight.
Vitamin D is also found in a number of foods, such as oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks, and fortified foods – such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals. Another source of vitamin D is dietary supplements.
Some people, such as those who are housebound or those with dark skin, won’t get enough of the vitamin from sunlight because they have very little or no sunshine exposure.
The Department of Health recommends that these people take a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D.
