Ambereen Anwar Imran, Iman Imran, Sadaf Farzand, Abdul Wadood Khalid, Naima Mehd, Mehfoozur Rehman, Qaisar Tauqeer Ahmed.
Frequency of vitamin D deficiency in patients presenting in Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore - Defeating the Deficiency of the Sunshine Vitamin.
J Cardiovascular Dis Jan ;17(1):3-8.

Background: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an essential role in bone health as well as being involved in several other vital functions. These include maintenance of normal blood pressure, a healthy skin, as well as supporting the immune system in fight against infections and cancer. It has also been found to play role in psychological well being as well as preventing autoimmune diseases. Although it is synthesized in the skin in the presence of sunlight, an alarming proportion of world population suffers from outright vitamin D deficiency or has insufficient levels. AIMS & Objective: To determine the frequency of vitamin D deficiency in patients presenting in Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore. Materials and Methods: Vitamin D levels of 200 patients along with their demographic details were obtained from the records of Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore. The results were analyzed by calculating the means, percentages and by applying students t-test and other tests as appropriate. Results: The mean levels of vitamin D was 23.97 ng/ml. Only 43 (21.5%) patients had adequate vitamin D levels, while 49 (24.5%) had levels in the insufficient range and 108 (54%) had vitamin D deficiency. The females had higher levels of vitamin D as compared to males. The highest levels were seen in females in 50-59 years age group. Conclusion: The levels of vitamin D were found to be alarmingly low in our population. The various factors involved are guessed to be air pollution, sociocultural practices and dress codes, darker skin tone of our population and use of sunblocks, obesity, overuse of glucocorticoids and other concurrent illnesses. Concerted efforts of healthcare providers and government are required to address the deficiency which may be the root cause of innumerable preventable diseases.

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