Vitamin D status and associated factors of deficiency among Jordanian children of preschool age.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D deficiency in children remains a global concern. Although literature exists on the vitamin D status and its risk factors among children in the Middle East, findings have yielded mixed results, and large, representative community studies are lacking. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a nationally representative survey of 1077 Jordanian children of preschool age (12-59 months) in Spring 2010, we measured 25(OH)D3 concentrations by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and calculated prevalence ratios for deficiency associated with various factors. RESULTS: RESULTS showed 19.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 16.4-23.3%) deficiency (<12 ng/ml) and 56.5% (95% CI: 52.0-61.0%) insufficiency (<20 ng/ml). In adjusted models, prevalence of deficiency was higher for females compared with males (prevalence ratio (PR)=1.74, 95% CI: 1.22-2.47, P=0.002) and lower for children 24-35 months of age (PR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.44-0.92, P=0.018) compared with children 12-23 months of age. In rural areas, there was no difference in prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between those whose mothers had/did not have vitamin D deficiency (P=0.312); however, in urban areas, prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 3.18 times greater among those whose mothers were vitamin D deficient compared with those whose mothers were not deficient (P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency pose significant public health problems in Jordanian children with female children disproportionately affected. Strong associations between vitamin D status in children and urban residency and maternal vitamin D status suggest that the behaviors related to sun exposure in urban mothers likely also affect the sun exposure and thus vitamin D status of their children.

Vitamin D status and determinants of deficiency among non-pregnant Jordanian women of reproductive age.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D deficiency, a risk factor for osteomalacia and osteoporosis, is a re-emerging health problem globally. While sunlight is an important vitamin D source, previous investigations among women whose culture encourages skin covering have been small, not nationally representative, or both. We investigated serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D(3)) status and factors associated with deficiency in a nationally representative survey of 2013 Jordanian women of reproductive age in Spring 2010. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We measured 25(OH)D(3) concentrations by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and calculated prevalence ratios for deficiency associated with skin covering and other factors. RESULTS: Results showed 60.3% (95% CI: 57.1-63.4%) deficiency (<12 ng/ml) and 95.7% (95% CI: 94.4-96.8%) insufficiency (<20 ng/ml) among women. Prevalence of deficiency was 1.60 times higher for women who covered with a scarf/hijab (95% CI: 1.06-2.40, P = 0.024) and 1.87 times higher for women who wore full cover, or a niqab (95% CI: 1.20-2.93, P = 0.006), compared with the women who did not wear a scarf/hijab or niqab. Compared with rural women completing at least secondary education, prevalence of deficiency was 1.30 times higher for urban women of the same education level (95% CI: 1.08-1.57, P = 0.006), 1.18 times higher for urban women completing less than secondary education (95% CI: 0.98-1.43, P = 0.09), and 0.66 times lower for rural women completing less than secondary education (95% CI: 0.52-0.84, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency pose significant public health problems in Jordanian women. Prevalence of deficiency is significantly higher among urban women and among women who cover with a scarf/hijab or niqab.