Vitamin D status among vegetarians and nonvegetarians

ABSTRACT

Vitamin D helps in maintaining bone and muscle health. Vitamin D deficiency is a global problem, with the prevalence of deficiency being widespread in Pakistan. The present study was planned to associate serum vitamin D, Parathyroid Hormone [PTH], calcium and phosphate concentrations with dietary habits of individuals living in urban/rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan. This was a crosssectional study at two locations, urban [Karachi] and rural [Haji Goth of Shadadpur city]. The study period was May-October 2012 on 176 healthy subjects, aged 20-80 years. Venous blood was collected for analysis of vitamin D, PTH, calcium and phosphorus. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS-18. Statistical differences between variables were determined by student's t-test and p<0.05 was considered significant. The 176 subjects were divided into non-vegetarians [93, 52.84%] and vegetarians [83, 47.16%] with each group subdivided into urban and rural. The BMI of non-vegetarians vs vegetarians was high [p<0.001]. Vitamin D in non-vegetarians vs vegetarians was low [p<0.001]. The vegetarians of urban compared to rural had low vitamin D [p<0.05]. The PTH of non-vegetarians vs vegetarians was significantly high [p<0.001]. Serum calcium was significantly low [p<0.05] in urban and rural subjects on either diet. Non-vegetarians had severe vitamin D deficiency, while vegetarians had vitamin D insufficiency irrespective of belonging to urban or rural area