Relationship Between Vitamin D and Nutritional Status in Healthy Reproductive Age Women

Recently a variety of studies reported high prevalence of vitamind deficiency in adult individuals in different countries and several previously published studies have linked obesity to a poorer vitamin d status, in which serum 25- ohd levels are inversely correlated with body fat. the aim of the present study was to evaluate prevalence of vitamin d deficiency and its relationship with nutritional status among women of reproductive age in the city of tabriz. material and methods: this was a cross-section study conducted on 252 reproductive, 15-49 year- old women of the city of tabriz, randomly selected from among the general population. from each subject 5 ml vein blood was obtained and serum levels of calcium, phosphor, alkaline phosphatase, and vitamin d were measured lev- els of <5 ng /ml were considered as severe deficiency, 5- 9.90 ng/ ml as moderate, and 10- 20 ng / ml as mild. a demographic questionnaire was completed; weight and height were measured us- ing seca scale and cotton ruler. body mass index was calculated based on weight and height. vi- tamin d was measured by radioimmunoassay. results: the results indicated that vitamin d deficiency in women was as follows: severe vita- min d deficiency 15.1%, moderate deficiency 15.5%, and mild deficiency 33.7%. of these women 3.7% were underweight and 59.8% had different stage of obesity. only 37.5% had bmi within normal range. there was a significant correlation between serum levels of vitamin d and weight and age (r = 0.16, p= 0.01 and r = 0.19, p= 0.003). there was no significant association between bmi and serum vitamin d level. conclusion: based on this study, it is speculated that vitamin d deficiency is prevalent in the women of tabriz. no relationship was found between vitamin d and nutritional status. therefore, interventions such as education and sun exposure are recommended for the health promotion of these women.