{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:19:03Z","timestamp":1785406743830,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,6]],"date-time":"2026-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778025600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001407","name":"Department of Biotechnology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BT\/PR2961\/PFN\/20\/1416\/2018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BT\/PR2961\/PFN\/20\/1416\/2018"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001407","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["BT\/PR2961\/PFN\/20\/1416\/2018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BT\/PR2961\/PFN\/20\/1416\/2018"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03tjsyq23","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among young Indian women. This study evaluated the dose\u2013response effects of varying levels of daily oral vitamin D3 intake on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and related bone biomarkers in vitamin D-deficient and insufficient young women. Methods: In a 12-week, double-blind, randomized controlled trial conducted in urban Bangalore, 108 non-pregnant, non-lactating women aged 18\u201335 years with serum 25(OH)D &lt;20 ng\/mL were randomized (1:1:1:1) to receive daily vitamin D3 at doses of 0, 400, 600, or 800 IU delivered via a fortified chocolate wafer. Serum 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone (PTH), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP), and osteocalcin were measured at baseline, and at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed using mixed linear and logistic models to assess the effect of intervention. Results: At baseline, 76.4% of participants were vitamin D-deficient (&lt;12 ng\/mL) and 23.6% were insufficient (12\u201320 ng\/mL). Serum 25(OH)D increased significantly over time in the 400, 600, and 800 IU\/day groups, with a significant time \u00d7 dose interaction effect (p &lt; 0.001), demonstrating an overall graded response across doses. By week 12, vitamin D sufficiency (\u226520 ng\/mL) was achieved in 7.4%, 26.9%, 37.0%, and 65.4% of participants in the 0, 400, 600, and 800 IU groups, respectively. From baseline to week 12, the mean increase in serum 25(OH)D was 7.69 ng\/mL in the 400 IU group, 8.83 ng\/mL in the 600 IU group, and 10.23 ng\/mL in the 800 IU group; no significant difference was observed between the 400 IU and 600 IU groups, whereas the 800 IU group demonstrated the greatest overall increase. PTH decreased over time without a significant time \u00d7 dose interaction. No significant interaction effect was noted for BSAP and osteocalcin. Mean compliance was high (&gt;98%) across all groups, and no serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Daily dietary intake of vitamin D3 at doses of 400\u2013800 IU for 12 weeks significantly improved serum 25(OH)D concentrations in vitamin D-deficient young Indian women. While PTH levels decreased over time, effects on bone turnover markers were modest and not dose specific. A daily dose of 800 IU\/day was the most effective, achieving vitamin D sufficiency in 65% of participants.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18091476","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T08:01:39Z","timestamp":1778140899000},"page":"1476","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Dose\u2013Response Effects of Vitamin D3 on Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels in Vitamin D-Deficient Young Indian Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-8280-9318","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chandni Halcyon","family":"Peris","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Research Scholar), Manipal 576104, KA, India"},{"name":"Division of Nutrition, St. John\u2019s Research Institute, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3229-267X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sumithra","family":"Selvam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Population Health, St. John\u2019s Research Institute, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4006-1049","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sumathi","family":"Swaminathan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Nutrition, St. John\u2019s Research Institute, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3209-9485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ravi","family":"Rangarajan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Health and Safety, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Doha 24449, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anura V.","family":"Kurpad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, St. John\u2019s Medical College, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tony","family":"Raj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, St. John\u2019s Medical College, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"},{"name":"Division of Medical Informatics, St. John\u2019s Research Institute, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Prashanth","family":"Thankachan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Nutrition, St. John\u2019s Research Institute, St. John\u2019s National Academy of Health Sciences (a Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education), Bangalore 560034, KA, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1007\/s11154-017-9424-1","article-title":"The Vitamin D Deficiency Pandemic: Approaches for Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention","volume":"18","author":"Holick","year":"2017","journal-title":"Rev. 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