Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency Among Medical Staff in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd, Iran

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the major health problems and has a high unexpected prevalence in sunny countries ie, Middle East. In this study we determined the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in medical staff in Shahid Sadoughi hospital affiliated to Yazd University of Medical Sciences. Our study emphasized the awareness of the medical staff on their own deficiency which is the first step to combat it. In a cross-sectional study, 82 medical personnel of Shahid sadughi hospital (August-September, 2005) were studied. The data were collected by questionnaire and blood sampling was done to measure serum 25 (OH) vitamin D by ELIZA method. Vitamin D deficiency was determined at the level of 25 (OH) D < 20 ng/ml. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency according to the above definition was 78%. We observed a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among medical staff that is a health problem in this sunny city and has significant public health implications.