The status of Vitamin D in medical students in the preclerkship years of a Saudi medical school

Al-Elq, Abdulmohsen H.

doi:10.4103/2230-8229.98293

Cited by 44 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The use of veil reduces sun exposure and vitamin D synthesis in the skin; this finding is similar to other studies, which concluded that veiled women had lower 25(OH)D levels [29][30][31] . However, it is important to note that the traditional male Arab garments are also covering the whole body including the head but the fabric is lighter and the color is white while the women's hijab is usually thicker and black.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The Impact of Dietary Intake and Sun Exposure on Vitamin D Deficiency among Couples

Alhaddad¹,

Al-Mahroos²,

Al-Sahlawi³

et al. 2014

BMB

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Background: The main sources of vitamin D are sun exposure and diet. There is a gap in our knowledge about the contribution of these factors to vitamin D level among couples in Bahrain. Objective: To determine vitamin D dietary intake and sun exposure and their impact on vitamin D level. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Maternity hospitals. Method: Data were collected using an adapted pre-validated food frequency questionnaire. It was adjusted to reflect the local food items. Vitamin D intake below 600 IU was considered low. The level was assayed as 25(OH)D using chemiluminescence method. SPSS-20 was used for data analysis. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Result: Three hundred and twenty five couples were included in the study. The mean dietary intake of vitamin D was low, but not significantly different between men and women. Vitamin D level was <50 nmol/L in 209 (64.3%) men and 292 (89.8%) women. The mean 25(OH)D level in males (46.06 ± 12.97 nmol/L) was significantly higher than females (33.12 ± 13.48 nmol/L). There was a significant association between dietary intake and 25(OH)D levels in both men and women. Sun exposure was also found to be significantly associated with 25(OH)D level in males but not in females which is attributed to the use of veil. Conclusion: Low vitamin D intake and inadequate sun exposure lead to hypovitaminosis D. There is a need to increase awareness and mandate the fortification of milk, dairy products and to supplement veiled women and those at risk of deficiency with vitamin D.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The Impact of Dietary Intake and Sun Exposure on Vitamin D Deficiency among Couples

Alhaddad¹,

Al-Mahroos²,

Al-Sahlawi³

et al. 2014

BMB

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“…Underground miners50Zonguldak, Turkey (41°45′N)Cross-sectional24.5 ± 28.22. Surface workers5035.3 ± 29.3Healthcare StudentsMaeda (2007) [108]Medical students44Sao Paulo (23° 34′S), BrazilDescriptive81.5 ± 35.8Gonzalez-Padilla (2011) [117]Medical students103Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (27°92′N)Descriptive69.6 ± 31.0<75 nmol/L: 28.6%<50 nmol/L: 32.6%Paper reported unit as ng/dL but ng/ml was used for calculationKaehler (2012) [118]Female healthcare professional students215Innsbruck, Austria (47°27′N)Cross-sectional50.3 ± 16.6<75 nmol/L: 33.5%<50 nmol/L: 55.8%Al-Elq (2012) [119]Medical students198Dammam, Saudi Arabia (26°39′N)Cross-sectional21.2 ± 11.9<75 nmol/L: 4%<50 nmol/L: 96%Manickam (2012) [120]Medical students and residents104Chicago, IL, USA (42°N)Descriptive54.0 ± 28.0<75 nmol/L: 77%Zabihiyeganeh (2014) [121]Medical students100Tehran, Iran (35° 69′N)Cross-sectional42.0 ± 11.7<75 nmol/L: 15%<50 nmol/L: 84%Milovanovic (2015) [122]Medical, pharmacy and dental students86Kragujevac, Serbia (44°N)Descriptive33.1 ± 12.1<50 nmol/L: 88.4%Medical ResidentsHaney (2004) [61]Medical residents34Portland, OR, USA (45°52′ N)Interrupted series56.4 ± 20.1<50 nmol/L: 38%Paper reported unit as ng/dL but ng/ml was used for calculationMaeda (2007) [108]Medical residents49Sao Paulo, Brazil (23° 34′S)Descriptive67.1 ± 27.0Orlandin Premaor (2014) [123]Medical residents73Porto Alegre, Brazil (30°S)Cross-sectional44.7 ± 20.0<50 nmol/L: 57.4%…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitamin D levels and deficiency with different occupations: a systematic review

et al. 2017

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BackgroundVitamin D deficiency is prevalent worldwide, but some groups are at greater risk. We aim to evaluate vitamin D levels in different occupations and identify groups vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency.MethodsAn electronic search conducted in Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text generated 2505 hits; 71 peer-reviewed articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Occupations investigated included outdoor and indoor workers, shiftworkers, lead/smelter workers, coalminers, and healthcare professionals. We calculated the pooled average metabolite level as mean ± SD; deficiency/insufficiency status was described as % of the total number of subjects in a given category.ResultsCompared to outdoor workers, indoor workers had lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D) levels (40.6 ± 13.3 vs. 66.7 ± 16.7 nmol/L; p < 0.0001). Mean 25-(OH)D levels (in nmol/L) in shiftworkers, lead/smelter workers and coalminers were 33.8 ± 10.0, 77.8 ± 5.4 and 56.6 ± 28.4, respectively. Vitamin D deficiency (25-(OH)D < 50 nmol/L), was high in shiftworkers (80%) and indoor workers (78%) compared to outdoor workers (48%). Among healthcare professionals, medical residents and healthcare students had the lowest levels of mean 25-(OH)D, 44.0 ± 8.3 nmol/L and 45.2 ± 5.5 nmol/L, respectively. The mean 25-(OH)D level of practising physicians, 55.0 ± 5.8 nmol/L, was significantly different from both medical residents (p < 0.0001) and healthcare students (p < 0.0001). Nurses and other healthcare employees had 25-(OH)D levels of 63.4 ± 4.2 nmol/L and 63.0 ± 11.0 nmol/L, respectively, which differed significantly compared to practising physicians (p = 0.01), medical residents (p < 0.0001) and healthcare students (p < 0.0001).Rates of vitamin D deficiency among healthcare professionals were: healthcare students 72%, medical residents 65%, practising physicians 46%, other healthcare employees 44%, and nurses 43%. Combined rates of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency (25-(OH)D < 75 nmol/L) were very high in all investigated groups.Potential confounders such as gender and body composition were not consistently reported in the primary studies and were therefore not analyzed. Furthermore, the descriptions of occupational characteristics may be incomplete. These are limitations of our systematic review.ConclusionsOur review demonstrates that shiftworkers, healthcare workers and indoor workers are at high risk to develop vitamin D deficiency, which may reflect key lifestyle differences (e.g. sunlight exposure). This may help target health promotion and preventive efforts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4436-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Alarming data were shown in a cross-sectional study of the adolescent population in ten European cities where hypovitaminosis D was present in 80% of the evaluated population, and almost 40% of individuals exhibited deficiency (35). Medical students were also part of the hypovitaminosis D framework in several countries such as Saudi Arabia, Spain and Serbia (52,58,59). A recently conducted cross-sectional study in the acid secretion due to the lipophilic structure of vitamin D. Bile acid is an indispensable factor for the incorporation of nonpolar molecules of vitamin D into the micelles of bile salt, after which it can be absorbed into the liquid phase.…”

Section: Factors Related To Vitamin D Deficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitamin D Deficiency and its Importance - A Global Problem of Today, Realistic or Not?

Milovanovic

2017

Serbian Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research

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Vitamin D, also known as the “sun vitamin” in the literature, has been examined for many years and still arouses researchers’ interest due to the pleiotropic effects achieved in the human body. Because of the influence on mineral homeostasis, the initially observed effects of vitamin D on the prevention and treatment of rickets, have now been extended to a large number of diseases with different aetiologies such as cardiovascular, autoimmune, endocrine, infectious, neurological, malignant and other diseases. Due to the large number of experimental studies in animals and humans, we have exact information about the role of vitamin D in many of these conditions. Reaching an adequate level of 25(OH)D in the human body is a basic requirement for the realization of these effects; 25(OH)D is a metabolic product that reflects the vitamin D status but that does not have any biological activity. The biological activities of vitamin D can occur only after the formation of a second metabolic product, 1,25(OH)2D, in the kidneys. The three main sources of acquiring vitamin D are through food, skin and supplementation. Food is not a rich source of vitamin D; it is clear that the most important influences to achieve an optimal vitamin D status in the human body are vitamin D synthesis at the skin and adequate supplementation intake. An alarming fact is that vitamin D deficiency is detected in an increasing number of people from one day to another in the general world population and that this condition has pandemic dimensions. Introducing the beneficial effects and sources of vitamin D to the general population and to medical experts with adequate supplementation regime can decrease the number of people who are vitamin D deficient.

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The status of Vitamin D in medical students in the preclerkship years of a Saudi medical school

Cited by 44 publications

References 30 publications

The Impact of Dietary Intake and Sun Exposure on Vitamin D Deficiency among Couples

The Impact of Dietary Intake and Sun Exposure on Vitamin D Deficiency among Couples

Vitamin D levels and deficiency with different occupations: a systematic review

Vitamin D Deficiency and its Importance - A Global Problem of Today, Realistic or Not?

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