Prevalence and risk factors of vitamin D deficiency among men

ABSTRACT

Vitamin D is vital for human health but its deficiency is worldwide. There is a gap in our knowledge about vitamin D status in Bahrain. To identify vitamin D status and associated risk factors among men in Bahrain. A cross-sectional study. Four public and four private maternity hospitals in Bahrain. The study was carried out in the second and third weeks of April 2012. Three hundred sixty-four men [husbands of mothers who presented in labor] participated in the study. A questionnaire was administered and vitamin D level was measured in the blood. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis were used to evaluate differences between variables. P-value <0.05 was considered significant. The mean age +/- SD was 34.40 +/- 7.27 years. Vitamin D mean level +/- SD was 46.14 +/- 12.80 nmol/L. Vitamin D level was <50 nmol/L in 233 [64%] men. The following variables showed significant association with vitamin D deficiency high income [P-value 0.020], smoking [P-value 0.021], lack of sun exposure [P-value 0.001] and high body mass index [P-value 0.022]. Vitamin D deficiency is common among men in Bahrain. High income, lack of sun exposure and high BMI were significant and independent predictors of low vitamin D level. There is a need for population-based study in a randomly selected sample which includes all age groups and both genders