Vitamin D deficiency and diseases: A review from Pakistan

• Published in: Journal of diabetology 2021-10, Vol.12 (4), p.391-400
• Main Authors: Mahmood, Yasir, Waris, Nazish, Fawwad, Asher, Basit, Abdul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Complications and side effects; Demographic aspects; diseases; Forecasts and trends; pakistan; pakistani population; Risk factors; vitamin d; Vitamin D deficiency
• ISSN: 2078-7685; 2078-7685
• DOI: 10.4103/jod.jod_32_21

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency is claimed to be associated with many diseases in the world population. Many studies reported that vitamin D deficiency is quite prevalent in Pakistan. The aim of this review is to describe the current status of vitamin D deficiency in healthy individuals and in different disease conditions in this country. Materials and Methods: Search engines such as "Google Scholar," "Medline," and "PubMed" were used by applying key words such as vitamin D deficiency and different disease conditions in the Pakistani population. In this study, people with vitamin D levels less than 30 ng/mL were reported as being vitamin D deficient. Results: A total of 82 studies were included: Among these, 12 studies showed vitamin levels less than 30 ng/mL in healthy individuals (male and female) and 70 studies in different disease conditions. It was found that about 64.6% of healthy subjects had vitamin D levels less than 30 ng/ml. Moreover, 70 studies showed vitamin D deficiency in some diseases, such as musculoskeletal, bone, and periodontal problems, nursing mothers and children, tuberculosis (TB), diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and some type of cancers. Conclusion: The current status of vitamin D deficiency in the healthy population and in several diseases and conditions is thoroughly discussed in this review. This review could be helpful in understanding the status of vitamin D and the different aspects of vitamin D research in this population.