The Relationship between Occupation and Serum Vitamin D Levels in Females during Summer in Sindh, Pakistan : Occupation and Serum Vitamin D Levels Relationship

Keenjhar Rani; Feriha Fatima; Hina  Riaz; Sindhu Laghari; Hira  Laghari; Abid Hussain  Khuwaja

doi:10.54393/df.v4i03.85

Authors

Keenjhar Rani Department of Physiology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Feriha Fatima Biochemistry Department, Bilawal Medical College, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Hina Riaz Department of Physiology, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
Sindhu Laghari Department of Medicine, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Hira Laghari Department of Medicine, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan
Abid Hussain Khuwaja Maternal and Child Health Care Centre (MCHC), Badin, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/df.v4i03.85

Keywords:

Hypovitaminosis D, Body Mass Index (BMI), Tukey HSD Means Separation Test

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is a considerable public health issue affecting predominantly South Asians. Objective: To determine the vitamin D levels in females related to different occupations during summer in Sindh, Pakistan. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was performed at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro. Healthy females (n = 236) were recruited according to different occupations into four groups: outdoor workers, office workers, students, and housewives. Results: Overall, 43.6% were vitamin D deficient, 28.9% were vitamin D insufficient, and 27.5% of females had sufficient vitamin D levels. Hypovitaminosis D was highly prevalent in housewives (62.7%) compared to outdoor workers (16.9%). In general, the mean vitamin D of all examined groups was found to be less than the optimal level, and significant differences were noted between occupational groups. Conclusions: The results showed that hypovitaminosis D is prevalent among Pakistani females. Moreover, occupations associated with reduced sun exposure may pose an added risk.

References

Tariq A, Khan SR, Basharat A. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards Vitamin D among university students in Pakistan. BMC Public Health. 2020 Dec; 20: 1-0. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8453-y. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8453-y

Mubashir M, Anwar S, Tareen AK, Mehboobali N, Iqbal K, Iqbal MP. Association of vitamin D deficiency and VDBP gene polymorphism with the risk of AMI in a Pakistani population. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2017 Nov; 33(6): 1349. doi: 10.12669/pjms.336.13379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.336.13379

Smith M. Seasonal, ethnic and gender variations in serum vitamin D3 levels in the local population of Peterborough. Bioscience Horizons. 2010 Jun; 3(2): 124-31. doi: 10.1093/biohorizons/hzq016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biohorizons/hzq016

Levis S, Gomez A, Jimenez C, Veras L, Ma F, Lai S et al. Vitamin D deficiency and seasonal variation in an adult South Florida population. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2005 Mar 1;90(3):1557-62. doi: 10.1210/jc.2004-0746. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2004-0746

Heidari B and Mirghassemi MB. Seasonal variations in serum vitamin D according to age and sex. Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine. 2012; 3(4): 535.

Demir M, Demir F, Aygun H. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with COVID‐19 positivity and severity of the disease. Journal of Medical Virology. 2021 May; 93(5): 2992-9. doi: 10.1002/jmv.26832. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.26832

Visser J, Knight K, Philips L, Visser W, Wallace M, Nel DG et al. Determinants of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in healthy young adults living in the Western Cape, South Africa. South African Family Practice. 2019 Jul; 61(4): 150-8. doi: 10.1080/20786190.2019.1621047. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20786190.2019.1621047

Riaz H, Finlayson AE, Bashir S, Hussain S, Mahmood S, Malik F et al. Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in Pakistan and implications for the future. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology. 2016 Feb; 9(2): 329-38. doi: 10.1586/17512433.2016.1122519. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1586/17512433.2016.1122519

Sheikh A, Saeed Z, Jafri SA, Yazdani I, Hussain SA. Vitamin D levels in asymptomatic adults-a population survey in Karachi, Pakistan. PloS One. 2012 Mar 23; 7(3): e33452. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033452

AlFaris NA, AlKehayez NM, AlMushawah FI, AlNaeem AN, AlAmri ND, AlMudawah ES. Vitamin D deficiency and associated risk factors in women from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Scientific Reports. 2019 Dec; 9(1): 20371. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56830-z. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56830-z

World Health Organization. Regional office for the western pacific, international association for the study of obesity, international obesity task force. The Asia pacific prospective: redefining obesity and its treatment. Health communication Australia. 2000. [Last cite: 28th Dec 2023]. Available at: https://www.vepachedu.org/TSJ/BMI-Guidelines.pdf.

Zhou D, Shah T, Jebran K, Ali S, Ali A. Acceptance and willingness to pay for solar home system: Survey evidence from northern area of Pakistan. Energy Reports. 2017 Nov; 3: 54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.egyr.2017.03.002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2017.03.002

Raza W, Hammad S, Shams U, Maryam A, Mahmood S, Nadeem R. Renewable energy resources current status and barriers in their adaptation for Pakistan. Journal of Bioprocessing and Chemical Engineering. 2015; 3(3): 1-9.

Hribar M, Hristov H, Gregorič M, Blaznik U, Zaletel K, Oblak A et al. Nutrihealth study: seasonal variation in vitamin D status among the Slovenian adult and elderly population. Nutrients. 2020 Jun; 12(6): 1838. doi: 10.3390/nu12061838. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061838

Junaid K, Rehman A, Jolliffe DA, Wood K, Martineau AR. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among women of child-bearing age in Lahore Pakistan, associating with lack of sun exposure and illiteracy. BMC Women's Health. 2015 Dec; 15: 1-8. doi: 10.1186/s12905-015-0242-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-015-0242-x

Chaudhary B, Afzal A, Khan MA, Anwar B, Rehman A, Shahzad MF. Vitamin D deficiency in Rawalpindi–Islamabad region. Journal of Rawalpindi Medical College. 2017 Jun; 21(2).

Nasir JA, Imran M, Zaidi SA. Pattern of vitamin D among Pakistani pregnant women. Journal of College of Physicians Surgeons Pakistan. 2018 Mar; 28(3): 233-7. doi: 10.29271/jcpsp.2018.03.233. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29271/jcpsp.2018.03.233

Siddique MT, Hafeez A, Mearaj S, Abbas S. Overview of Vitamin D, its status and consequences: Challenges and prospects for Pakistani population: A Review. Biomedical Letters. 2021; 7(1): 1-1. doi: 10.47262/BL/7.1.20201114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47262/BL/7.1.20201114

Dror DK and Allen LH. Vitamin D inadequacy in pregnancy: biology, outcomes, and interventions. Nutrition Reviews. 2010 Aug; 68(8): 465-77. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00306.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00306.x

Jamil NA, Shahudin NN, Abdul Aziz NS, Jia Qi C, Wan Aminuddin WA, Mat Ludin AF et al. Knowledge, attitude and practice related to vitamin D and its relationship with vitamin D status among Malay female office workers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019 Dec; 16(23): 4735. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16234735. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234735

Devgun MS, Paterson CR, Johnson BE, Cohen C. Vitamin D nutrition in relation to season and occupation. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1981 Aug; 34(8): 1501-4. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/34.8.1501. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/34.8.1501

Jeong H, Hong S, Heo Y, Chun H, Kim D, Park J et al. Vitamin D status and associated occupational factors in Korean wage workers: data from the 5th Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES 2010–2012). Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2014 Dec; 26: 1-0. doi: 10.1186/s40557-014-0028-x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-014-0028-x

Lee DH, Park KS, Cho MC. Laboratory confirmation of the effect of occupational sun exposure on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration. Medicine. 2018 Jul; 97(27). doi: 10.1097%2FMD.0000000000011419. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000011419

Sowah D, Fan X, Dennett L, Hagtvedt R, Straube S. Vitamin D levels and deficiency with different occupations: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2017 Dec; 17: 1-25. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4436-z. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4436-z. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4436-z

Masood I, Majid Z, Sohail S, Zia A, Raza S. The deadly heat wave of Pakistan, June 2015. The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2015 Oct; 6(4): 247. doi: 10.15171/ijoem.2015.672. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15171/ijoem.2015.672

Impact of Advertisements on Demand for Fairness Products Among University Students in Pakistan. Rehman TU, Parveen S, Jawaid K, Khan MA. Encyclopedia of Organizational Knowledge, Administration, and Technology. IGI Global. 2020.

Aparna P, Muthathal S, Nongkynrih B, Gupta SK. Vitamin D deficiency in India. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2018 Mar; 7(2): 324. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_78_18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_78_18