Study to Evaluate the Vitamin D Scenario in an Indian Population

Abstract

Introduction : Till the 20th century deficiency of vitamin D which is synthesized in the skin upon exposure to UVB light was largely unknown. But today vitamin D deficiency has taken an epidemic form and is linked with many disease conditions. Several studies have put forward a very high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Indians of all age groups. Aims and objectives : To study the vitamin D status of people visiting a tertiary care centre in India. Materials and Methods : This is a prospective observational study conducted in the Biochemistry section of Central Clinical Laboratory of Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH). All the vitamin D reports generated in the laboratory for a period of 9 months were recorded and analysed to estimate the prevalence. Similar to other vitamin D studies, 20ng/ml was taken as the cut-off for vitamin D deficiency, 30ng/ml for insufficiency, and 30-100ng/ml as the normal vitamin D range. Results and Observations : In this study Vitamin D data of 1000 patients admitted in GMCH was analysed. Of them females outnumbered males (68.7% vs 31.3%). Of the 1000 vitamin D reports analysed 51.9% were found to be in the insufficient range, followed by 30.1% in the normal range. In 17.5% vitamin D levels were found to be deficient Vitamin D status was found to be lower in females as compared to males. 86.75% of females were either vitamin D deficient or insufficient and 71.88% of males were either deficient or insufficient. Conclusion : In this study 17.5% of study subjects had vitamin D level <20ng/ml, which may be considered as deficient, as per the Institute of Medicine(IOM) which considers a serum vitamin D value of 20 ng/ml as optimal. According to the U.S. Endocrine Society 30 ng/ml is optimal. Due to this variation the recommended daily intakes of this nutrient also vary.