Vitamin D Deficiency Picture: An Indian laboratory Retrospective Study of Over 10,000 Subjects

Abstract

Aim: Vitamin D deficiency is a clinical condition prevalent worldwide, and frequency studies estimate the same to be around 40% to 90%. Though diet and lifestyle have a major contribution towards blood levels of vitamin D, studying the deficiency prevalence demographically is important to chart specific remedial recommendations.Materials and Methods: Our study is aimed at presenting vitamin D status in a large cohort of over 10,000 Asian Indians. The study cohort consisted of a total of 10,379 Indians, inclusive of 4470 males and 5909 females. Serum vitamin D estimation was done using the analytical platform of Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). Levels of < 20 ng/mL were considered deficient, while levels between 21–30 ng/mL were reported to be insufficient.Result: The frequency of vitamin D deficiency was detected to be 54.5%. The prevalence was detected to be higher in males at 56.7% as compared to females at 52.8%, and the difference was found to be statistically significant. Age-wise analysis detected the maximum frequency of deficiency in the 10–25 years group at 69.7%.Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is a public health concern in India, and routine screening of this micronutrient is crucial among Indians, wherein the prevalence has been detected to be high.

Keywords: Deficiency; Indians; Insufficiency; Micronutrient; Vitamin D