Vitamin D Deficiency and Cardiometabolic Risks: A Juxtaposition of Arab Adolescents and Adults

• Published in: PloS one 2015-07, Vol.10 (7), p.e0131315-e0131315
• Main Authors: Al-Daghri, Nasser M, Al-Saleh, Yousef, Aljohani, Naji, Alokail, Majed, Al-Attas, Omar, Alnaami, Abdullah M, Sabico, Shaun, Alsulaimani, Maha, Al-Harbi, Mohammed, Alfawaz, Hanan, Chrousos, George P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Adults; Age; Age Factors; Arabs; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - diagnosis; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Children; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - diagnosis; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Epidemics; Fasting; Female; Females; Girls; Glucose; Health risks; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hyperglycemia - blood; Hyperglycemia - complications; Hyperglycemia - diagnosis; Insulin resistance; Male; Males; Men; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity, Abdominal - blood; Obesity, Abdominal - complications; Obesity, Abdominal - diagnosis; Pediatric diseases; Prediabetic State - blood; Prediabetic State - complications; Prediabetic State - diagnosis; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Schools; Sex Factors; Subpopulations; Systematic review; Teenagers; Triglycerides - blood; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - analogs & derivatives; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D deficiency; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - complications; Vitamin D Deficiency - diagnosis; Vitamin deficiency; Youth
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131315

The recent exponential surge in vitamin D research reflects the global epidemic of vitamin D deficiency and its potential impact on several chronic diseases in both children and adults. Several subpopulations, including Arab adolescent boys and girls, remain understudied. This study aims to fill this gap. A total of 2225 apparently healthy Saudi adolescents (1187 boys and 1038 girls, aged 13-17 years old) and 830 adults (368 men and 462 women, aged 18-50 years old) were respectively recruited from different public schools and medical practices within Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthropometrics were taken and fasting blood samples withdrawn to examine serum glucose and lipid profile by routine analysis and 25-hydroxyvitamin D by ELISA. Almost half of the girls (47.0%) had vitamin D deficiency as compared to only 19.4% of the boys (p