Vitamin D, Parathormone and Associated Minerals among Students in Zagazig District, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

What is it about?

Hypovitaminosis D is a health problem among adolescents in Zagazig district, Egypt as it reaches approximately 23.8 % among the whole studied group. Girls were at higher risk than boys, mainly due to cultural and lifestyle practices. An increase in age and sun exposure are associated with an improvement of vitamin D status. Parathyroid hormone and total calcium levels significantly correlated with vitamin D, while ionization was not. The inverse relationship with parathyroid hormone suggests that low levels of vitamin D can have a deleterious effect on skeletal growth among adolescents. There is a need to consider vitamin D supplementation for school children in order to improve biochemical findings related to Vitamin D deficiency, together with encouraging increased awareness through a proper health education program about sun exposure, healthy diet and lifestyle. Further studies are needed in other areas in Egypt to confirm these findings and identify the risk factors responsible for the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency.

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Why is it important?

Some studies have been published, about the prevalence of Vitamin D among some groups of adolescents in Egypt, but not at the community level. We, therefore, undertook this study to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among students of age 13 – 18 years attending schools in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt.

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