Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is a highly prevalent condition in approximately 30% to 50% of the general population even in tropical countries. Sufficient level of this vitamin is important not only for maintenance of bone health and calcium metabolism but also in reducing the risk of many extra skeletal diseases. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with excess mortality in the general population as well as in patients with cardiovascular disease. The impacts of vitamin D on bone mass vary according to life-stages and ranges from bone mass attainment during the adolescence period to bone mass preservation as well as fracture prevention throughout the perimenopausal and postmenopausal periods. Insufficient levels of serum vitamin D impair adequate attainment of peak bone mass and reduce bone mass acquisition and maintenance. There is a positive correlation between serum vitamin D level and Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in young subjects who are at age of peak bone mass attainment as well as in postmenopausal women. Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory action and exerts immunomodulatory effects on immune cells. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to the development of or progression of several rheumatic diseases which are prevalent particularly in young women. (Heidari B, Heidari P, Tilaki KH (2013) High Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Women Presenting to Rheumatology Clinic in North of Iran: An Inverse Relation with Age)

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Last date updated on May, 2024