Awareness of Vitamin D Deficiency among the General Population in Taif City, Saudi Arabia

Recently, vitamin D deficiency has been considered the most common nutritional deficiency all over the world that affects all age groups. The current study aimed to evaluate the level of awareness of the general population in Taif city, Saudi Arabia, toward vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D sources, and toxicity. A cross-sectional study was conducted.  A validated questionnaire was distributed to the participants through social media platforms. The study included 431 participants. About half of the participants (46.6%) reported having a vitamin D deficiency history, and 13.5% of the participants were healthcare providers. Only 103 participants (23.9%) showed a good awareness level regarding vitamin D’s role, sources, and toxicity. A better awareness regarding the benefits of vitamin D was indicated in females (p-value<0.001), participants with a university degree (p-value<0.001), and healthcare professionals (HCPs) (p-value<0.001). Respondents from the medical field, hold a university degree, and with a history of vitamin D deficiency had a significantly higher awareness level regarding the sources of vitamin D (p-value<0.001, p-value=0.028, and p-value=0.024, respectively). In addition, being one of the medical staff and holding a university degree were significant factors that had a favorable effect on the awareness level regarding the toxicity of vitamin D (p-value<0.001, p-value=0.009 respectively). The study demonstrated a low level of awareness among the general population toward vitamin D deficiency. Further studies are recommended to fill the awareness gap and to improve the awareness of vitamin D, its benefits, sources, and toxicity.

1.        Alamoudi LH, Almuteeri RZ, Al-Otaibi ME, Alshaer DA, Fatani SK, Alghamdi MM, et al. Awareness of Vitamin D Deficiency among the General Population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. J Nutr Metab. 2019;2019:4138187. 

2.        Chang SW, Lee HC. Vitamin D and health - The missing vitamin in humans. Pediatr Neonatol. 2019;60(3):237-44. 

3.        Antonucci R, Locci C, Clemente MG, Chicconi E, Antonucci L. Vitamin D deficiency in childhood: old lessons and current challenges. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2018;31(3):247-60.

4.        Hamhoum AS, Aljefree NM. Knowledge and Attitudes towards Vitamin D among Health Educators in Public Schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(12):2358. doi:10.3390/healthcare10122358

5.        Salman S, Khouzami M, Harb M, Saleh B, Boushnak MO, Moussa MK, et al. Prevalence and Predictors of Vitamin D Inadequacy: A Sample of 2,547 Patients in a Mediterranean Country. Cureus. 2021;13(5):e14881.

6.        Lhamo Y, Chugh PK, Gautam SR, Tripathi CD. Epidemic of Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Management: Awareness among Indian Medical Undergraduates. J Environ Public Health. 2017;2017:2517207.

7.        Delahunty I, Li J, Jiang W, Lee C, Yang X, Kumar A, et al. 7-Dehydrocholesterol Encapsulated Polymeric Nanoparticles As a Radiation-Responsive Sensitizer for Enhancing Radiation Therapy. Small. 2022;18(17):e2200710. doi:10.1002/smll.202200710

8.        Makke A. Vitamin D Supplementation for Prevention of Dental Implant Failure: A Systematic Review. Int J Dent. 2022;2022:2845902. doi:10.1155/2022/2845902

9.        Sizar O, Khare S, Goyal A, Bansal P, Givler A. Vitamin D deficiency. InStatPearls [Internet] 2021 Jul 21. StatPearls Publishing.

10.      Alfaqih MA, Araidah A, Amarin Z, Saadeh R, Al-Shboul O, Khanfar M, et al. Association of vitamin D levels and polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Biomed Rep. 2022;18(1):3.  doi:10.3892/br.2022.1585

11.      Charoenngam N, Shirvani A, Holick MF. Vitamin D for skeletal and non-skeletal health: What we should know. J Clin Orthop Trauma. 2019;10(6):1082-93. doi:.1016/j.jcot.2019.07.004

12.      Lamberg-Allardt C. Vitamin D in foods and as supplements. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2006;92(1):33-8.  doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2006.02.017

13.      Pereira-Santos M, Costa PR, Assis AM, Santos CA, Santos DB. Obesity and vitamin D deficiency: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2015;16(4):341-9. 

14.      Christie FT, Mason L. Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding vitamin D deficiency among female students in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative exploration. Int J Rheum Dis. 2011;14(3):e22-9.

15.      Abukhelaif AE, Alzahrani SA, Al-Thobaiti LY, Alharbi AA, Al KM, Shumrani YS. Assessment level of awareness of Vitamin D deficiency among the public residents of Al-Baha region; Saudi Arabia. Med Sci. 2021;25(116):2728-36.

16.      Hussain AN, Alkhenizan AH, El Shaker M, Raef H, Gabr A. Increasing trends and significance of hypovitaminosis D: a population-based study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Arch Osteoporos. 2014;9(1):1-5.

17.      Ardawi MS, Qari MH, Rouzi AA, Maimani AA, Raddadi RM. Vitamin D status in relation to obesity, bone mineral density, bone turnover markers and vitamin D receptor genotypes in healthy Saudi pre- and postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2011;22(2):463-75.

18.      Ardawi MS, Sibiany AM, Bakhsh TM, Qari MH, Maimani AA. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among healthy Saudi Arabian men: relationship to bone mineral density, parathyroid hormone, bone turnover markers, and lifestyle factors. Osteoporos Int. 2012;23(2):675-86. 

19.      Alsuwadia AO, Farag YM, Al Sayyari AA, Mousa DH, Alhejaili FF, Al-Harbi AS, et al. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Saudi adults. Saudi Med J. 2013;34(8):814-8.

20.      Alfawaz H, Tamim H, Alharbi S, Aljaser S, Tamimi W. Vitamin D status among patients visiting a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a retrospective review of 3475 cases. BMC Public Health. 2014;14(1):1-6.

21.      Al-Agha AE, Alorabi SH, NoorSaeed SM, Shalabi NM. Awareness of vitamin D and its deficiency in Jeddah population, Saudi Arabia. J Community Public Health Nurs. 2016;2(2):1-5.

22.      SaeidiFard N, Haeri-Mehrizi AA, Akbarzadeh Z, Janbozorgi N, Montazeri A, Yaseri M, et al. Association of health literacy and nutritional literacy with sun exposure in adults using structural equation modelling. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):1162. doi:10.1186/s12889-022-13465-6

23.      Salmanpour VA, Ibrahim HS, Salameh AG, Yahya AM, Debal BK. Vitamin D deficiency: knowledge and practices among the adult population in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Arch Osteoporos. 2016;11(1):1-7.

24.      Al Bathi BA, Al Zayed KE, Al Qenai M, Makboul G, El-Shazly MK. Knowledge, attitude and practice of patients attending primary care centers toward vitamin D in Kuwait. Alexandria J Med. 2012;48(3):277-82.

25.      Alramdhan AM, El-Zubair AG. Poor vitamin D supplementation in infants. Cross-sectional study of maternal practices and awareness of vitamin D supplementation in infants in Al-Ahsa, Eastern Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J. 2014;35(1):67-71. 

26.      Kavitha D. Knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding Vitamin D deficiency among antenatal mothers. Int J Pharma Bio Sci. 2015;6(4):486-97.

27.      Tariq A, Khan SR, Basharat A. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards Vitamin D among university students in Pakistan. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1-0.

28.      Alemu E, Varnam R. Awareness of vitamin D deficiency among at-risk patients. BMC Res Notes. 2012;5(1):1-6.

29.      Khan N, Hussain S, Bashar S, Hasan S, Palis EA, Iqbal S. Attitudes and behavior towards sunlight exposure and knowledge about vitamin D among Omani female university students. EC Nutr. 2017;8(2):35-42.

30.      AlGhamdi KM, AlAklabi AS, AlQahtani AZ. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of the general public toward sun exposure and protection: A national survey in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Pharm J. 2016;24(6):652-7.