Premium
Absence of vitamin D deficiency among common outdoor workers in Delhi
Author(s) -
Dharmshaktu Pramila,
Saha Soma,
Kar Parmita,
Sreenivas Vishnubhatla,
Ramakrishnan Lakshmy,
Goswami Ravinder
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/cen.14012
Subject(s) - vitamin d and neurology , medicine , vitamin d deficiency , observational study , zoology , endocrinology , demography , biology , sociology
Background There is reservation about accepting the notion of widespread vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in sunny countries because information base is largely urban indoors, and the cut‐off serum 25(OH)D > 75.0 nmol/L to define sufficiency is perceived as high. Objective We assessed the vitamin D status of subjects engaged in six types of outdoor jobs with freedom to seek shade, when needed. Design Descriptive observational study. Subjects and methods A total of 573 outdoors, (hawkers, n = 144; auto‐rickshaw drivers, n = 113; manual rickshaw pullers, n = 49; fuel‐station attendants, n = 84; gardeners, n = 96; traffic police personnel, n = 87) were assessed for serum 25(OH)D, iPTH and total calcium during summer and winter. Bank employees were indoor controls (n = 72). Serum 25(OH)D was defined as sufficient if ≥50.0 nmol/L and deficient when <30.0 nmol/L, as per ‘Institute of Medicine’. Results Mean serum 25(OH)D of 573 outdoors was 44.8 ± 19.6 nmol/L and showed a physiological inverse relation with iPTH ( P < 0.001). 77.5% of the outdoors did not have VDD. Hawkers, gardeners, fuel‐station attendants and rickshaw pullers had sufficient or near sufficient serum 25(OH)D. The mean serum 25(OH)D (30.6 ± 23.2 nmol/L) of indoors though lower by 12.7 nmol/L than outdoors was above the cut‐off of VDD. Proportions with supranormal iPTH were comparable between outdoors and indoors (14.0% vs 20.8%). Despite winter dip, the mean serum 25(OH)D (31.2 ± 14.3 nmol/l) of outdoors was not deficient. Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency is not universal. Most urban outdoor workers do not have VDD.