Volume 8 | Issue - 8
Volume 8 | Issue - 8
Volume 8 | Issue - 8
Volume 8 | Issue - 7
Volume 8 | Issue - 7
Background: Vitamin D is essential for bone health and the regulation of calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Despite its significance, vitamin D deficiency is prevalent globally, especially among women of reproductive age and postmenopausal women. In India, despite abundant sunlight, there is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, attributed to limited sun exposure, cultural practices, and insufficient dietary intake.Objectives; To determining the prevalence of vitamin D status and deficiency among women of reproductive age and postmenopausal women attending a tertiary health care center. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study involving 300 women (140 reproductive age and 160 postmenopausal) was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tertiary Health Centre, Dakshina Kannada, over one year. Subjects were selected via convenient sampling. Inclusion criteria included reproductive age (20-45 years) and postmenopausal women (45-75 years). Exclusion criteria were women on vitamin D or calcium supplementation, those with malabsorption syndromes, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diseases, or on medications affecting vitamin D metabolism. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured, with deficiency defined as <10 ng/ml, insufficiency as 10-29 ng/ml, and normal levels as ≥30 ng/ml. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22, employing chi-square tests for qualitative data and independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests for quantitative data. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean vitamin D3 levels were significantly lower in the reproductive age group (19.58 ± 11.26 IU/ml) compared to the postmenopausal group (23.22 ± 14.79 IU/ml) (P = 0.018). Despite this, 15% of reproductive age women and 11.3% of postmenopausal women were vitamin D deficient, while 71.4% and 71.1%, respectively, were insufficient. There was no significant difference in deficiency and insufficiency rates between the two groups. Conclusion: Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the reproductive age group, but both groups exhibited high rates of deficiency and insufficiency. These findings highlight the need for targeted public health strategies, including supplementation, dietary modifications, and lifestyle changes to improve vitamin D status among women.