Doctors are handing out a rising number of vitamin D prescriptions in Hampshire.

Analysis of figures from reveal a total of 76,265 prescriptions in the year ending January 2019.

That is a seven per cent increase compared to the year ending January 2018, when 71,519 Vitamin D prescriptions were handed out by doctors It is also the highest number of prescriptions since 52,483 were handed out in the year ending January 2015, when modern records began.

Professionals have said the supplement should be made widely available for people most at risk of low vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones because it helps the body to use calcium.

From the end of March until the start of September most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from direct contact with sunlight when outdoors.

But the NHS says that during autumn and winter months people need to get vitamin D from their diet because the sun isn't strong enough for the body to produce its own.

It is most commonly found in oily fish, red meat, and egg yolks.

The NHS warns that a lack of vitamin D can lead to rickets - a disease more commonly associated with the Victorian era that causes soft bones and skeletal deformities.


It means one person can have many prescriptions counted over the course of a year.

The NHS advises that everyone should consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement during the autumn and winter but not to take more than 100 micrograms a day as it could be harmful.

The overall number of prescriptions in England increased from 24.0 million to 24.5 million in the year to January 2019.

Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says that people at risk of low vitamin D should be given better access to supplements to protect their health.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the NICE Centre for Public Health, said: “Around 10 million people in England may have low vitamin D status and so could be at risk of health problems – and they may not know it.


“People who are over 65 years old are another group at risk of having low vitamin D levels, and so are also at risk of conditions like osteomalacia – soft bones.

“NICE recommends making low cost vitamin D supplements widely available to people at risk of deficiency.”