Prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among overweight and obese Libyan females

Abstract

Globally, overweight and obesity are the fifth leading contributors to fatalities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight is defined as a body Mass Index (BMI)≥25, whereas obesity is a BMI≥30. There is growing evidence that obesity and vitamin D deficiency are related, although the cause-effect relationship remains unclear. Objective of this work was to find out whether obesity alters vitamin D level in obese adult females in the Eastern region of Libya. One hundred and twenty Libyan females visited nutrition clinics both in Benghazi and Tobruk were interviewed during September 2015 with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Tested individuals were subjected to thorough clinical investigations and biochemical measurement of vitamin D, calcium, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), Complete Blood Count (CBC), creatinine, Na+, K+, urea and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels that were carried out on the collected serum. Data was analyzed using excel and presented as the mean ± SEM (n). The mean age of study sample was 30.93±1.05 y (118). Adult obese Libyan females represented 63.33%, adult overweight Libyan females represented 25.83%, adult healthy Libyan females represented 3.33% and children (Libyan females <18 years old) represented 7.50% of whole study sample. Out of whole study sample 55.83% (n=67) had a family history of obesity. Average level of vitamin D in overweight adult Libyan females was 9.92±1.37 (29), obese adult Libyan females was 9.38±0.70 (74), healthy weight adult Libyan females was 11.11±1.72 (4) and in female Libyan children was 9.98±1.63 (9). Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent not only in overweight and obese Libyan adult females but also this may be extended to children and healthy adults as well. This study should be extended to measure vitamin D level among different ages and sexes in all main cities within the country.