HYPOVITAMINOSIS D IN HEALTHY STUDENTS OF A MEDICAL COLLEGE
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the degree of hypovitaminosis D in healthy medical college students.
METHODS: This institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar. One hundred and four healthy students were included in the study. Those who were taking vitamin D supplements, having any chronic disorder or having signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency were excluded from the study. A semi structured questionnaire was administered to all the participants to know about their demographic details, daily milk consumption and approximate duration of daily sunlight exposure. Five milliliter of blood was collected from the participants for determination of vitamin D levels.
RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 23.26+0.98. There were 65 (62.5%) girls and 39 (37.5%) boys. The mean vitamin D level was 11.88±0.41 ngm/mL in male and 10.02±0.42 ngm/mL in female students. Vitamin D deficiency was observed in 99 (95.19%) cases. A total of 3(2.88%) students had mild deficiency, 19 (18.26%) were having moderate deficiency, and 77(74%) were having severe deficiency. Regarding the daily milk consumption, 70 (67.30%) students didn’t consume even a single cup of milk per day & 29(27.88%) used to take 1 cup of milk per day. Sun exposure of >120 minutes was observed in 84.6% of boys and 12.3% of girls and <60 minutes was observed in 55.4% of girls & 5.2% of boys.
CONCLUSION: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among healthy medical college students. The main contributing factors are low dietary intake of vitamin D and limited sunlight exposure.
EY WORDS: Vitamin D Deficiency (MeSH), Adolescent (MeSH), Medical Student (MeSH)
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