High prevalence of vitamin d deficiency and insufficiency in a low income peri-urban community in Karachi

Objective: to determine the frequency of vitamin d deficiency and insufficiency in a low-income peri-urban population. methods: the cross-sectional study was conducted in a low-income,unplanned settlement in karachi,and comprised apparently healthy adults who were recruited randomly with informed consent. serum levels of 25- hydroxy vitamin d were measured using a kit obtained from roche diagnostics. one-way analysis of variance and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. results: of the 858 subjects,507(59%) were females and 351(41%) males (age range: 18-60 years). prevalence estimates of vitamin d deficiency (<20ng/ml) and insufficiency (20.0-29.9ng/ml) were found to be 501(58.4%) and 269(31.4%),respectively. odds ratio of vitamin d deficiency was significantly higher in females compared to males after adjusting for education and smoking status (p=0.001). conclusion: high prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among females in one of the peri-urban areas points towards a public health problem which requires attention of the medical community. © 2015,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.