Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among adult population of Isfahan city,Iran

Determination of vitamin d status in different age-groups in a community and in different climates of a country is necessary and has important implications for general health. the study was conducted to determine the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among the adult population of isfahan,a centrallylocated city in iran. in this cross-sectional study,1,111 healthy people-243 men and 868 women-aged 41.4 (mean 14 and range,20-80) years,who attended a single-consultation outpatient clinic,were selected. serum 25-hydroxy vitamin d (25-ohd),parathyroid hormone (pth),calcium and phosphorus concentrations were measured. mild,moderate and severe vitamin d deficiencies were defined as 25-ohd values of,20-30 ng/ml,10-20 ng/ml,and <10 ng/ml respectively. the median (range) concentrations of 25-ohd were 21 (4.0-105.0) ng/ml in males and 18 (1.5-117) ng/ml in females (p=0.05). the prevalence of mild,moderate and severe vitamin d deficiencies among the adult population was,19.6%,23.9%,and 26.9% respectively. vitamin d deficiency was more prevalent among women (p=0.001) and younger age-group (p=0.001). medians of 25-ohd in spring-summer and autumn-winter were 21 ng/ml and 18 ng/ml respectively (p=0.005). the prevalence of severe vitamin d deficiency was higher in autumn-winter than in spring-summer (odds ratio=1.6,95% confidence interval 1.2-2.2,p=0.001). the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency was high in a sunny city-isfahan- especially among women and younger population. the high prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in this city emphasizes the necessity of vitamin d supplementation as more exposure to sun is limited due to the type of clothing required by current law. © international centre for diarrhoeal disease research,bangladesh.