• Dr. Ragini Singh Ghalaut
• Dr. Veena Singh Ghalaut
• Dr. Aditi Singh
• Dr. Anuj Chaudhary
• Dr. Deepika Dalal

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is a globally recognized public health problem. Even in a tropical country like India, where there is sufficient sunshine, vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is widely prevalent. We conducted this study to document vitamin D levels and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in a population comprised of Indian females from North India.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 women aged ≥10 years in the department of Biochemistry, Pt. B.D Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India. Serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D (25(OH)D) was estimated by radioimmunoassay method, on fully automated RIA Analyzer SR300 by Stratec Biomedical AG, Germany using Beckman Coulter 25OH vitamin D total RIA kit. Individuals with 25OH vitamin D <20ng/ml were said to have vitamin D deficiency, those with 20-30 ng/ml was considered vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) and those with values>30ng/ml were taken as vitamin D sufficient. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0 and R-software. Results: A total of 150 females were enrolled in the study and their vitamin D levels were assessed. Out of 150 females, around one-fifth were in the age category of 10-15 years (20.7%), nearly half were aged 15-45 years (52.7%) and the remaining were older than 45 years (26.6%). The mean (SD) vitamin D levels of the study population was 22 (11.9) ng/ml whereas the median (IQR) level was 19.7 (14.5-27) ng/ml. Overall, around half (51.3%) of the study population were deficient in vitamin D and another one-third (33.3%) had insufficient vitamin D levels (i.e. 20-30 ng/ml). Only 15.4% of the participants had sufficient vitamin D levels (>30 ng/ml). Conclusion: The study found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. The need for improving the levels of vitamin D among the female population is both important and urgent. Emphasis on promoting consumption of vitamin D rich food, vitamin D supplements and outdoor activities to increase sun exposure will help alleviate the problem at large.

VITAMIN D STATUS IN NORTH INDIAN FEMALES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM HARYANA, NORTH INDIA

"VITAMIN D STATUS IN NORTH INDIAN FEMALES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM HARYANA, NORTH INDIA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.751-758, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906K91.pdf

"VITAMIN D STATUS IN NORTH INDIAN FEMALES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM HARYANA, NORTH INDIA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp751-758, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906K91.pdf