The present cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the vitamin D status of pregnant Indian women and their breast-fed infants. Subjects were recruited from the Department of Obstetrics, Armed Forces Clinic and Army Hospital (Research and Referral), Delhi. A total of 541 apparently healthy women with uncomplicated, single, intra-uterine gestation reporting in any trimester were consecutively recruited. Of these 541 women, 299 (first trimester, ninety-seven; second trimester, 125; third trimester, seventy-seven) were recruited in summer (April -October) and 242 (first trimester, fifty-nine, second trimester, ninety-three; third trimester, ninety) were recruited in winter (November -March) to study seasonal variations in vitamin D status. Clinical, dietary, biochemical and hormonal evaluations for the Ca -vitamin D-parathormone axis were performed. A subset of 342 mother -infant pairs was re-evaluated 6 weeks postpartum. Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) of pregnant women was 23·2 (SD 12·2) nmol/l. Hypovitaminosis D (25(OH)D ,50 nmol/l) was observed in 96·3 % of the subjects. Serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly lower in winter in the second and third trimesters, while serum intact parathormone (iPTH) and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly higher in winter in all three trimesters. A significant negative correlation was found between serum 25(OH)D and iPTH in mothers (r 20·367, P¼0·0001) and infants (r 2 0·56, P¼ 0·0001). A strong positive correlation was observed between 25(OH)D levels of mother -infant pairs (r 0·779, P¼ 0·0001). A high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was observed in pregnancy, lactation and infancy with no significant inter-trimester differences in serum 25(OH)D levels.
A high prevalence of osteoporosis was observed in elderly Indian subjects. pDXA has high negative predictive value, making it a useful tool in population screening for osteoporosis.
ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) in government employees across India.MethodsThe study population consisted of government employees in different parts of India ({n=10 642 men and n=1966 women; age 20–60 years}) and comprised various ethnic groups living in different environmental conditions. Recruitment was carried out in 20 cities across 14 states, and in one union territory. All selected individuals were subjected to a detailed questionnaire, medical examinations and anthropometric measurements. Blood samples were collected for blood glucose and serum lipid profile estimation, and resting ECG was recorded. Results were analysed using appropriate statistical tools.ResultsThe study revealed that 4.6% of the study population had a family history of premature CAD. The overall prevalence of diabetes was 16% (5.6% diagnosed during the study and the remaining 10.4% already on medication). Hypertension was present in 21% of subjects. The prevalence of dyslipidemia was significantly high, with 45.6% of study subjects having a high total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein ratio. Overall, 78.6% subjects had two or more risk factors for CAD.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrates a high prevalence of CAD risk factors in the Indian urban population. Therefore, there is an immediate need to initiate measures to raise awareness of these risk factors so that individuals at high risk for future CAD can be managed.
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