Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in medical students
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has recently been recognized in different parts of the world,
even affecting healthy populations. The deficiency of vitamin D can lead to rickets in children and
osteomalacia in adults. Few studies have been done to evaluate the status of vitamin D in the medical
community around the world. No studies have been done in Libya to evaluate the status of vitamin D in
medical students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of low level of vitamin D in among
healthy Libyan medical students of first year in University of Tripoli, Tripoli. Prospective study was conducted
on 100 medical students of first year in Faculty of Medicine with a mean age of 19.5 years, 38 males and 62
females. Blood samples were taken and investigated for different biochemical parameters including serum
calcium, serum vitamin D and serum parathyroid hormone levels. Questionnaire containing different data was
completed for each student including personal data (age, address, nationality, and other data related to vitamin
D deficiency. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in all the participated students was 74% (58.7% in males
and 83.8% in females), while 21% had vitamin D insufficiency (28% in males and 16.12% in females). Only
5% of the students that had normal vitamin D was males. The mean 25-hydroxy vitamin D level was 19.49 ±
8.56 ng/ml in males and 12.08 ± 6.70 ng/ml in female students. Statistical analysis revealed that there is a
highly significant difference among the student in vitamin D deficiency. In conclusion, low concentration of
vitamin D is highly prevalent among the medical students included. An urgent action has to be taken in order
to prevent adverse consequences of low vitamin D in young population.
