Vitamin D Status and its Dietary and Lifestyle Determinants among Adults in Bangladesh: A Laboratory-based Study

Hypovitaminosis D is a global public health concern and is known to be prevalent worldwide including in tropical countries. Data on its prevalence and determinants are scarce in Bangladesh. The objective of this study was to determine the vitamin D status and its dietary and lifestyle determinants among adult people attending selected clinical laboratories. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 221 people undergoing laboratory investigation for serum 25- hydroxy vitamin D in selected two laboratories during the period of January 2022 to March 2022 (three months). The association between vitamin D status & individual specific variables was statistically analyzed. Out of 221 respondents, 156(70.59%) were female and 65(29.41%) were male, with a mean age of 45.32±17.41 years. Regarding serum vitamin D level, only 12.2% of respondents had a sufficient level of vitamin D and hypovitaminosis D was prevalent among 87.8% of respondents with 49.3% deficiency and 38.5% insufficiency. Vitamin D deficiency was found more among females (55.80%) compared to males (33.80%). This study reveals no milk intake (p=0.015) and traveling by car and motorbike (p=0.042) was significantly associated with hypovitaminosis D. No significant associations of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were detected with sea fish/oily fish consumption, vitamin D supplementation, covering clothes of females, use of sunscreen, physical exercise and smoking habit of the respondents. The study findings recommend encouraging people to take vitamin D-containing foods to prevent hypovitaminosis D and related consequences.