[Vitamin D status in Lebanese university students]

Vitamin D inadequacy is highly prevalent in Lebanon in young adults, school children and postmenopausal osteoporotic women. However, this prevalence has not been previously studied in university students. Three hundred and eighty-one students (mean age 23.9 +/- 3.9 years), randomly recruited from Saint-Joseph University, were included in this cross-sectional study (201 males and 180 females). Recruitment was performed across all seasons. The mean 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was 31 +/- 12A ng/ml. 25(OH)D was inversely correlated with BMI and waist circumference (r = -0.18 and r = -0.19,p < 0.001 for both variables). 25(OH)D was significantly different between the winter season and the other seasons (p = 0.023, p = 0.001 and p < 0.0001 for spring, summer and fall respectively). 25(OH)D was lower in men compared to women (29.01 +/- 11.23 versus 33.2 +/- 13A, p < 0.01). This gender difference disappears after adjustment for both season and BMI. In addition, the inverse relation between 25(OH)D and BMI was non significant in the female population. In a stepwise multilinear regression analysis using 25(OH)D as a dependent variable, season and BMI were the independent predictors of vitamin D levels (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.001 respectively). Our results suggest that, in a population of high educational level, vitamin D status is better compared to other subgroups of the Lebanese population. In addition, we found, after adjustment for BMI and season, no gender difference in 25(OH)D levels while the winter season and a high BMI negatively affect vitamin D status.