Continuing Medical Education

After evaluating an article designated for Continuing Medical Education (CME) in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN), participants in the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) CME program should be able to show that their knowledge of clinical nutrition has increased. Participants should also be able to evaluate whether the clinical information provided in the CME-designated article is relevant to the provision of patient care.

Accreditation and credits

The ASN is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The ASN designates each CME program for 1 hour of category 1 credit toward the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician’s Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he or she actually spent on the education program.

Instructions

Each issue of the AJCN will usually include at least 2 articles designated for CME credit. After reading the CME-designated article, select the best answer to each exam question listed below and complete the evaluation. To receive CME credit, you should return the exam and evaluation pages along with the CME Participant Response Form by July 31, 2007. Please fax the pages to the ASN at 301-634-7351 or mail them to the following address: American Society for Nutrition, CME Program, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814. Note that all responses must be prepaid. Answers to the questions will be mailed to all participants, and certificates of credit will be sent to participants who successfully complete each exam. Please be sure to make a photocopy of the exam for your records before submitting it to the ASN.

Article: van der Meer IM, Karamali NS, Boeke AJP, et al. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant non-Western women in The Hague, Netherlands. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:350–3.

One hour of category 1 credit will be issued for successful completion of this entire exam.

CME exam

1. Dark-skinned people living in northern or southern latitudes are more likely than are light-skinned people to become vitamin D–deficient because

1. Dark-skinned people synthesize less vitamin D than do light-skinned people.
   
2. Vitamin D synthesis in skin is dependent on the intensity of sunlight.
   
3. Both of the above.
   
4. Neither of the above.
   

2. Which of the following statements is true regarding the vitamin D requirement in pregnancy?

1. Vitamin D is essential for fetal organ development in the first trimester.
   
2. Vitamin D is essential for fetal bone mineralization and prevention of congenital rickets.
   
3. Vitamin D prevents early termination of pregnancy.
   
4. None of the above.
   

3. Which of the following statements is true regarding vitamin D deficiency in pregnant Dutch women?

1. Almost all of the dark-skinned pregnant women were vitamin D deficient at 12 wk gestation.
   
2. Vitamin D deficiency was not found in light-skinned pregnant women.
   
3. Most of the offspring of the dark-skinned women had evidence of congenital rickets.
   
4. The incidence of vitamin D deficiency in dark-skinned women was 7 times that in light-skinned women.
   

4. Which of the following statements is true regarding the incidence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women?

1. The reported incidences of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant Dutch women are probably reflective of worldwide incidences.
   
2. Emerging evidence suggests that the current serum vitamin D cutoffs for deficiency are much too low.
   
3. The serum vitamin D concentration as 25-hydroxyvitamin D does not accurately reflect true vitamin D stores.
   
4. None of the above.
   

CME exam evaluation

1. Were the CME program objectives successfully met?

1. Yes
   
2. No
   
3. Partially (please explain)
   

2. Did you find this article and its CME questions relevant to your practice?

1. Yes
   
2. No
   
3. Partially (please explain)
   

3. Will completion of this CME exam affect the way that you treat your patients?

1. Yes (please explain)
   
2. No
   

4. Was the information presented in this article objective, balanced, and free of commercial bias?

1. Yes
   
2. No
   

Comments

Related articles in AJCN:

High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant non-Western women in The Hague, Netherlands

Irene M van der Meer, Nasra S Karamali, A Joan P Boeke, Paul Lips, Barend JC Middelkoop, Irene Verhoeven, and Jan D Wuister
AJCN 2006 84: 350-353. [Full Text]