RESUMO
In order to assess the prevalence of vitamin-D deficiency in patients attending the rheumatology outpatient clinic at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar, 360 consecutive patients [97 percent female] were tested for fasting levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, calcium,, phosphorus, albumin and alkaline phosphatase. Two hundred and three patients [56 percent] showed vitamin D levels below 20 ng/ml from the results obtained it is concluded that levels of serum calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase are of limited value in predicting vitamin-D status. The difficulty of skin synthesis in heavily-robed women is discussed and it is concluded that hypovitaminosis D is frequent in such women and that routine assays of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation would be beneficial