Vitamin D Deficiency—A Clinical Spectrum: Is There a Symptomatic Nonosteomalacic State?

Vitamin D deficiency is not uncommon even in the sunny land of India. Lack of sun exposure and inadequate oral intake are both responsible for vitamin D deficiency. This article provides a retrospective, examining the effects of Vitamin D deficiency in 71 patients. The study's inclusion criterion was low vitamin D level combined with musculoskeletal symptoms but without the presence of osteomalacia. All patients in this study were suspected to have vitamin D deficiency. The data were retrieved from the case-charts of patients seen between 1996 and 2001 at the rheumatology services of Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, India. This study found no correlation between Vitamin D levels and symptoms, or between the severity of Vitamin D deficiency and the number of symptoms displayed. Subclinical vitamin D deficiency or preosteomalacic state was the term coined for individuals with vitamin D deficiency producing nonspecific musculoskeletal symptoms in the absence of clinical osteomalacia.