Vitamin D status among vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

BACKGROUND: 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. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSION: Non-vegetarians had severe vitamin D deficiency, while vegetarians had vitamin D insufficiency irrespective of belonging to urban or rural area.

Prevalence of microalbuminuria with relation to glycemic control in type-2 diabetic patients in Karachi.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is one of the most common endocrine disorders characterized by hyperglycaemia. Diabetic nephropathy is a consequence of long standing diabetes. The prevalence of microalbuminuria predicts progression to diabetic nephropathy. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria in relation to duration of diabetes, BMI, Serum Creatinine and HbA1c in an ethnic group of Type 2 diabetes mellitus residing in Karachi. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in a community diabetic centre, located at Garden East Karachi from July to December 2007. One hundred known Type 2 diabetic patients with age 30-70 years were included in the study. Informed consent and a structured questionnaire of each patient were recorded. Fasting venous blood and morning urine sample was collected for analysis of creatinine, HbA1c and microalbuminuria respectively. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 13.0. Pearson correlation was applied to observe association of microalbuminuria with different parameters. All p-values < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: Microalbuminuria had a highly significant correlation with duration of diabetes, serum creatinine (p < 0.001), HbA1c (p < 0.05) and BMI (p < 0.024). A strong correlation exists between age and serum creatinine (r = 0.73). CONCLUSION: The present study found an early onset of microalbuminuria in the selected community which could be due to poor glycaemic control (high HbA1c > 7%) or heredity factors. Screening for microalbuminuria and HbAlc test should be done in both newly and already diagnosed Type 2 diabetic patients as an early marker of renal dysfunction and glycaemic control.