Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in General Population of Islamabad, Pakistan

Objective: The current study was designed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the general population of Islamabad and its suburbs. Study Design: Single centre, Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted from January to December 2012, at the Department of Pathology, Kulsum International Hospital, Islamabad. Materials and Methods: 737 subjects were tested for vitamin D. About 3 ml blood from all the study subjects was collected in gel tubes and serum was separated via centrifugation at 4,000 rpm for 5 minutes. The test principle is based on an Electrochemiluminescence Immuno Assay (ECLIA). The assay uses a vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) as capture protein in the assay which binds to vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 (25- hydroxyvitamin). Results: Out of a total of 737 subjects tested for vitamin D, females were 76.2% of the total sample size. The mean age of respondents was 36.3 years (age range 15-75 years) years. 562 (76.2%) were females while 175 (23.8%) were males with a age range of 15-75 years. Females had significantly lower mean Vitamin D levels (56.2%) compared to males (15.3%). Insufficiency has been reported by 11.3% individuals with 9.65% females and 1.65% males. The rest of the subjects (17.2%) were normal including 10.5% females and 6.7% males. Conclusion: The study showed a high percentage of vitamin D deficient individuals. The frequency of vitamin D deficiency increased considerably with age and was greater in females. There is a need to take immediate measures to tackle this growing public health problem.