Prevalence and Trends of Vitamin D Deficiency among Iranian Adults: A Longitudinal Study from 2001-2013
JNutr Sci Vitaminol, 63, 284-290, 2017
| 2001 | 2007 | 2013 | |
| Deficiency (<10 ng) | 31 % | 27 % | 24 % |
| Sufficiency (< 20 ng) | 38 % | 42% | 46 % |
Hossein Khosravi-Boroujeni1,2, Nizal Sarrafzadegan3^, Masoumeh Sadeghi4,
Hamidreza Roohafza4, Shu-Kay Ng1,2, Ali Pourmogaddas3 and Faruk Ahmed1,2
School of Medicine, Griffith University, QLD, Australia
Menzies Health Institute Queensland, QLD, Australia
Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute,
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4 Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, Cardiovascular Research, Iran
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Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is currently considered to be a re-emerging public health problem globally. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency and to investigate its trend from 2001 to 2013 in a longitudinal study of Iranian adults. This study was part of a population-based, longitudinal ongoing study of Iranian healthy adults aged 35 y and older at baseline. Serum vitamin D level was assessed in a sub-sample of 370 subjects, who were apparently healthy at the time of recruitment in 2001 and were free from MetS, in three phases (2001, 2007 and 2013) during the 12-y study period. Adjusted prevalence and trend of vitamin D deficiency were calculated. Mean serum vitamin D levels increased over the time of the study (52.12, 54.2 7 and 62.2 8 nmol/L, respectively) and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency decreased (30.5, 27.0 and 24.4, respectively). However, the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency did not change over this time period. The risk of vitamin D deficiency decreased significantly in 2007 [OR: 0.73 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.99)] and 2013 [OR: 0.50 (95% CI: 0.36, 0.70)] compared to the baseline. The present study demonstrated some improvement in serum vitamin D levels, while the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy was still high. Considering the possible health consequences of vitamin D deficiency, there is an urgent need for developing population-wide strategies, such as supplementation and fortification, to prevent or control vitamin D deficiency.