Year-round vitamin D deficiency among Saudi female out-patients

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec id="S1368980012002947_abs1" sec-type="general"><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>The aim of the present study was to investigate vitamin D status among female out-patients in Saudi Arabia during the summer and winter seasons.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980012002947_abs2" sec-type="general"><jats:title>Design</jats:title><jats:p>Data were retrospectively collected using medical record abstraction.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980012002947_abs3" sec-type="general"><jats:title>Setting</jats:title><jats:p>A multidisciplinary hospital in Riyadh between January and December 2009.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980012002947_abs4" sec-type="subjects"><jats:title>Subjects</jats:title><jats:p>Saudi females (age ≥19 years;<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>1556) attending out-patient clinics for various complaints comprised the studied population. The population was subdivided into two groups depending on the date of their visit where blood samples were collected: summer (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>659) and winter groups (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>897). The summer group was further subdivided into premenopausal (age 19–49 years;<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>425) and postmenopausal subgroups (age ≥50 years;<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>234). Similarly, the winter group was subdivided into premenopausal (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>543) and postmenopausal subgroups (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic>354). Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) were measured using HPLC.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980012002947_abs5" sec-type="results"><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D &lt;50 nmol/l) was high in both premenopausal and postmenopausal groups (80 % and 68 %, respectively) during the summer, as well as during the winter (85 % and 76 %, respectively).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980012002947_abs6" sec-type="conclusion"><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Saudi female out-patients was observed throughout the year despite the routine supplementation with 10–20 μg vitamin D<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>for postmenopausal women. Clinicians should seriously consider determining the vitamin D status of Saudi females routinely and prescribing them proper supplementation.</jats:p></jats:sec>

The Prevalence of Micronutrient Deficiencies and Inadequacies in the Middle East and Approaches to Interventions

“…Most studies on vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among the elderly in the Middle East have been conducted on women [26,45,46,47,48], a few have included both genders [11,15,49,50], and only one has been conducted solely on men [12]. Low prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been reported among the elderly in Egypt at 19.3% [12] and KSA at 23.1% [23]; however, insufficiency levels were found to be higher, reaching 41% among the elderly in Lebanon [15] and 77.2% among those in Egypt [26].…”

“…Several observational studies from the KSA have reported a prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L) in the range of 19%–85% in postmenopausal women [42,46,47,48]. For example, in a cohort of 671 postmenopausal women, Ardawi et al found 34.1% of women presented with vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L) and secondary parathyroidism evident in 24.6% of women, with lower vitamin D status and higher intact parathyroid hormone in the upper quintiles of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio [48].…”

Risk Factors of Hypovitaminosis D in Adolescents, Shanghai, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Thus in winter the people had worse vitamin D status. But even in summer, the mean concentration of 25(OH)D in the study population was only 25.6 ng/ml, with about 1/4 being hypovitaminosis D. The situation was similar to that of female adults in Saudi Arabia [18], which was at lower latitude than Shanghai. Even in Thailand, a tropical country, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in adolescents was up to 10% [19].…”

Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Calcium Homeostasis in Saudi Children

“…Several large-sample populations-based studies as well as smaller studies also revealed a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and of rickets in infants (0.5% of Saudis <2 years) and adolescents in Saudi Arabia (21,22,23,24,25,30). …”

“…An increasing body of evidence also shows the extra-skeletal benefits of vitamin D, such as those on the immune system, fuel metabolism, cardiovascular system, and cancer. In addition, associations with decreased mortality have been reported (13,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29). …”