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DOI: 10.4103/1947-489X.210368
Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in patients attending a general hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Authors
Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a common medical problem, especially in the gulf region of the Middle East. The prevalence in several studies has exceeded 50% and being more frequent among females. Objective: We assessed the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients attending a general hospital in both men and women in different age groups. Methods: Vitamin D level data for patients who attended Dubai hospital in the period between 2008 and 2012 were examined retrospectively. The serum 25(OH) D levels were crosschecked in patients' charts and the hlaboratory electronic database. Patients with incomplete medical records, those already on treatment with vitamin D, and patients with contradicting results in the medical files and the electronic database has been excluded. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis relating vitamin D levels to age, gender, and ethnicity. Results: The total number included was 2836 patients. 81% of them had 25 (OH) D levels of <30 ng/ml. About 76.4% (n=2166) of the studied group were females. There was no difference in prevalence between males and females. Arab ethnicity was associated with more marked vitamin D deficiency and less sufficiency. Conclusion: We conclude that vitamin D deficiency is a considerably major health problem in the emirate of Dubai. Higher awareness among healthcare providers and the community is needed for screening and treatment necessity.
Publication History
Received: 09 July 2013
Accepted: 20 December 2013
Article published online:
07 July 2022
© 2014. The Libyan Authority of Scientific Research and Technologyand the Libyan Biotechnology Research Center. All rights reserved. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License,permitting copying and reproductionso long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, oradapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
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