Background: Vitamin D is a hormone produced in the skin by ultraviolet radiation and plays a crucial role in calcium homeostasis. It has been lately acknowledged that vitamin D participates in the pathophysiology of various chronic diseases and its deficiency has been linked to the deterioration of patients' condition. The aim of this study was to record levels of 25(OH)D in the population of a rural, near-border area of Northern Greece and to investigate possible association to an underline chronic disease. These are the preliminary results of a study on vitamin D deficiency epidemiology and genetic polymorphisms of its receptor and transfer protein. Materials and Methods: 293 subjects, 111 (38%) men and 182 (62%) women, of mean age ± SD 57.6 ± 17 years, were recruited. Blood was drawn and 25(OH)vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels were determined in serum. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS v.25.0.Results: In total, 149 (51%) subjects had insufficiency and 61 (20.9%) deficiency of vitamin D. 108 (37%) were overweight and 113 (38.7%) were obese and multiple logistic regression analysis showed that vitamin D insufficiency was significantly associated with BMI (OR: 1.049; 95% CI: 1.002-1.099; p=0.043). Personal history revealed that 42 (14.4%) had diabetes mellitus, 12 (4.1%) had cardiovascular diseases, 12 (4.1%) had an autoimmune disease, and 153 (52.4%) had cancer or another disease. 99 (33.9%) of the participants had received vitamin D. In the subgroup analysis, for those not taking vitamin D, insufficiency was significantly associated with age (OR: 1.030; 95% CI: 1.009-1.053; p=0.006) and deficiency with BMI (OR: 1.049; 95% CI: 1.002-1.098; p=0.04), whereas for those having been supplemented with vitamin D, insufficiency was associated with obesity (OR: 4.097; 1.527-10.996; p=0.005).
Conclusions:Almost three quarters of the subjects presented with insufficiency or deficiency of vitamin D in this area of Northern Greece. Vitamin D levels were mainly associated with age and BMI and less with co-existing pathologies.