Vitamin D deficiency in Russia: the first results of a registered, non-interventional study of the frequency of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in various geographic regions of the country

BACKGROUND. In Russian Federation, there are no large-scale cross-sectional multicenter epidemiological studies assessing the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in different geographical latitudes. Insufficient solar insolation and inadequate vitamin D content in food dictate the need to study the epidemiological structure of low vitamin D status in Russia. AIM. To assess the incidence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among the population living in the regions of the Russian Federation located at latitudes from 45 ° to 70 °. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The first stage of the Russian multicenter non-interventional registry study using the «crosssectional» method was carried out from March 2020 to May 2020. RESULTS. In regions that represent a geographically representative sample of regions of the Russian Federation with a high risk of developing low levels of vitamin D, it’s deficiency was noted in 55.96%, and the level of deficiency and insufficiency was recorded in 84.01%. CONCLUSION. Close attention to the wide scale of the problem of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in the Russian Federation will contribute to the progressive formation of various educational and preventive programs necessary to strengthen health and improve the quality of life of the population.