Vitamin D status among Kashmiri tribal population: A cross-sectional community-based study

Abstract

Background & objectives: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is prevalent across all age groups in general population of India but studies among tribal populations are scanty. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of VDD in the indigenous tribal population of the Kashmir valley and examine associated risk factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional investigation, a total of 1732 apparently healthy tribal participants (n=786 males and n=946 females) were sampled from five districts of Kashmir valley by using probability proportional to size method. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels were classified as per the Endocrine Society (ES) recommendations: deficiency (<20 ng/ml), insufficiency (20-30 ng/ml) and sufficiency (>30 ng/ml). The serum 25(OH)D levels were assessed in relation to various demographic characteristics such as age, sex, education, smoking, sun exposure, body mass index and physical activity. Results: The mean age of the male participants was 43.79±18.47 yr with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 20.50±7.53 kg/m 2 , while the mean age of female participants was 35.47±14.92 yr with mean BMI of 22.24±4.73 kg/m 2 . As per the ES guidelines 1143 of 1732 (66%) subjects had VDD, 254 (14.71%) had insufficient and 334 (19.3%) had sufficient serum 25(OH)D levels. VDD was equally prevalent in male and female participants. Serum 25(OH)D levels correlated positively with serum calcium, phosphorous and negatively with serum alkaline phosphatase. Gender, sun exposure, altitude, physical activity and BMI did not seem to contribute significantly to VDD risk. Interpretation & conclusions: VD deficiency is highly prevalent among Kashmiri tribals, although the magnitude seems to be lower as compared to the general population. These preliminary data are likely to pave way for further studies analyzing the impact of vitamin D supplementation with analysis of functional outcomes.

Evaluation of the deficiency status of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D and associated factors in Southwest China: A hospital‐based retrospective cross‐sectional analysis of a low‐latitude, high‐altitude, multiracial region

“…Increased outdoor activity and underuse of sunscreen by males might partly contribute to this difference. Similarly, an obvious seasonal variation in levels of vitamin D was observed, which is in accordance with that reported by several previous studies in China (Guo et al., 2018; He et al., 2020; Hu et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2022) and studies in other countries (Ganie et al., 2022; Smirnova et al., 2022; Van Schoor & Lips, 2017). Vitamin D levels and sufficiency rates were higher in summer and autumn than in spring and winter.…”

“…Furthermore, in the United States and Canada, vitamin D deficiency status remains common even with the implementation of fortification strategies (G and Gupta, 2014). The results from other countries, such as Switzerland (Rabufetti et al., 2019), Saudi Arabia (Bushnaq et al., 2022), Armenia (Hutchings et al., 2022), India (Ganie et al., 2022), Russia (Smirnova et al., 2022) and Pakistan (Arshad & Zaidi, 2022), also revealed widespread vitamin D deficiency.…”

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“…One of the most common diseases associated with vitamin D is bone diseases such as rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults [12]. Vitamin D deficiency has spread widely in many countries and it is considered a common epidemic because it affects about one billion people in the world [13], and for this reason, it is a source of concern for health and international organizations, especially through early stages of human growth of including infancy stage, followed by the childhood, and finally the stage adolescence [14,15]. Despite Saudi Arabia being one of the countries that enjoy exposure to the sunshine most days of the year, as exposure to sunlight is an essential source for obtaining vitamin D [16], it was found the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among the population was more than 80%, this result, according to a recent study conducted In Saudi Arabia [17,18].…”