ABSTRACT
Background: Vitamin D deficiency was considered to be the sole cause of rickets and osteomalacia but now by the discovery that most tissues and cells in the body have vitamin D receptors and many tissues have enzymes that convert primary circulating form of vitamin D to its active form has provided new insight into the function of this vitamin. In different studies, its role has been highlighted in decreasing the incidence of autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases
Objective: To determine the frequency of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women attending a tertiary care hospital
Subjects and Methods: Study Site: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Sheikh Zayed Medical College and Hospital Rahim Yar khan. A total of 108 pregnant women were recruited from SZMC/Hospital with the exclusion criteria of women having chronic renal or liver diseases, known asthmatic or diabetics and women on antituberculous or antiepileptic drugs. This was a descriptive study, a part of an ongoing prospective study. All pregnant women irrespective of age or gestational age were selected. Data was collected on a predesigned proforma and analyzed in SPSS version 17
Results: A total of 108 pregnant women were included. 77 women [71%] were deficient in vitamin D, 18 women [16.7%] were insufficient and only 13 [12%] women were having normal vitamin D levels with the mean level of 15.9ng/dl. There was no statistically significant association between vitamin D levels and any specific age groups, parity and gestational ages
Conclusion: There is high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women and vitamin D deficiency is present in all age groups, with any parity and gestational ages. This raises concerns about the health consequences for the mother and baby. Awareness programs should be started at local and national levels regarding importance of exposure to sunlight and intake of healthy diet. A targeted screening strategy to detect and treat women at risk of severe vitamin D deficiency is required in Pakistan