High Incidence of Vitamin D Deficiency (VDD) Among Indoor Workers: Association with Dietary and Lifestyle Factors

ABSTRACT

The study evaluated the relationship of various dietary and lifestyle factors with vitamin D status and bone health of adults engaged in office jobs. A total of 100 subjects comprising of 50 males and 50 females (with their willingness to participate) in the age group of 30–50 years were purposively selected for the investigation, who were spending 8 hours in the offices. Results showed that most of the subjects had vitamin D deficit with mean serum vitamin D level as 13.2 ng/ml and 68% were osteopenic. Dietary phytates, sedentary lifestyle, higher body mass index were found to have a deleterious impact on vitamin D status. This silent epidemic needs to be addressed with effective public health initiatives, such as raising awareness about the availability of fortified foods, optimum time, and body surface area for sun exposure.

KEYWORDS:

• Bone mineral density
• calcium
• dietary intake
• sun exposure index
• vitamin D deficiency

Acknowledgments

The authors hereby express their gratitude and appreciation to all the participants, who cooperated throughout the course of this investigation and provided all the requisite information.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

No funding was recieved by authors.