‘Women more likely to have vitamin D deficiency’

NEW DELHI: A recent study revealed that woman in India are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency,  making them more vulnerable to the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes. The findings showed that 68.6 per cent women living in north India are vitamin D “deficient” and 26 per cent women have ‘insufficient’ levels. The study was conducted by Fortis C- Doc in association with AIIMS, Diabetes Foundation of India and National Diabetes Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation.

The cross sectional study conducted in North India sheds light on the relationship between low vitamin D and high blood glucose levels in Indian women who are in the pre-diabetic stage. This is the first time such a study has been conducted in India. The study has been published in the British Medical Journal. The sample size for this study was 797 women between the ages of 20 and 60. They were chosen after a careful screening process, which involved clinical assessments and bio chemical testing. Study further revealed that women from lower socio-economic groups tend to have a higher vitamin deficiency that those from higher socio-economic groups. It has also been observed that post-menopausal women, who suffer from low calcium deposits in addition to low vitamin D deficiency, are at a higher risk of bone damage. “Previous studies had already established the link between the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and abdominal obesity. They have also highlighted how diabetic patients have lower levels of vit
amin D as compared to non-diabetic individuals,” Chairman Fortis C-Doc, Dr Anoop Misra, said.

 “However, the relationship between vitamin D and the development of pre-diabetes, with a special focus on women, has remained obscure and unexplored.

In India, there is a need to understand this as women have a propensity to be obese, develop metabolic syndrome, consequent hyperglycaemia and thereby be at the risk of diabetes," he added.