Vitamin D Deficiency in 7 - 11 Year Old Children in Eastern Iran

Conclusionsin regard to the protective role of vitamin d in preventing many chronic diseases, immediate intervention in the form of nutritional supplement is needed to overcome the high prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in children.resultsof the total number of 238 children surveyed, 110 (46.2%) were males and 128 (54.8%) females. vitamin d levels in the subjects ranged from a minimum of 4.3 to a maximum of 63.1 ng/dl, with mean value of 15.4 ± 8.1 ng/dl. the deficient, insufficient and sufficient levels of vitamin d were found in 76.9%, 18.5%, and 4.6% of the students, respectively. moreover, vitamin d deficiency was significantly higher in the females.objectivesthe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in children in city of birjand, east of iran.patients and methodsthis cross-sectional study was carried out in winter of 2012 and comprised 238 students of primary schools aged between 7 and 11 years. sampling was done through randomized multiple stage method. the data were obtained using a questionnaire consisting of questions about weight, height and serum level 25 (oh) vitamin d. serum level 25 (oh) d < 20 ng/ml was defined as deficient, level 20 - 30 ng/ml as insufficient and the level > 30 ng/ml as sufficient.backgroundvitamin d deficiency is a health problem in different countries. vitamin d deficiency is an important health problem in both developed and developing countries. recent reports on extra skeletal effects of vitamin d have led to increased interest in prevalence studies on states of deficiency/insufficiency of vitamin d.