The Ontario government is considering an end to provincial health payments for routine vitamin D tests, even while examining a report that 5 percent of the population is so deficient as to be at risk of bone disease.

A flurry of studies have suggested that low blood levels of the vitamin could be a contributing factor in many common cancers, adult onset diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions. Because of this, doctors and patients have clamored for the tests, which have soared in Ontario to an estimated 732,000 last year, more than 10 times the number conducted as recently as 2005.

In response to the escalation, the Ministry of Health asked its medical advisory committee to assess the vitamin D status of Canadians, and whether the government should continue funding the tests. The committee issued a draft report recommending against paying for routine testing -- even though it found that a significant number of people either have outright vitamin D deficiency or low levels.

Sources:
  The Globe and Mail January 7, 2010