| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 7
| Issue : 1 | Page : 12-17 |
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Intergenerational Decline in Vitamin D Status: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Medical Students and Their Teachers
Kinshuk Looned1, Amitav Banerjee1, Jyoti A Landge1, Dakshayani P Pandit2
1 Department of Community Medicine, Dr DY Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra, India
2 Department of Microbiology and HeadCCL, Dr DY Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Correspondence Address:
Amitav Banerjee
Department of Community Medicine, Dr DY Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, Maharashtra - 411 018
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2231-0738.199070
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Background and objectives: The present study was done to study the vitamin D status among medical students and their teachers to ascertain the intergenerational difference of vitamin D status. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 88 participants comprising 48 medical students and 40 faculty members was done. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [serum 25(OH)D] level was assessed as a marker for vitamin D levels. A level of serum 25(OH)D < 10 ng/mL was considered as deficiency, 10–29 ng/mL as deficient, and 30–100 ng/mL as sufficient. Statistical analysis: Epi Info 2007 was used for statistical analysis. Chi-square test, t-test, and Kruskal–Wallis test were applied as applicable to observe the significant differences among the groups. Results: In the overall study sample, 14.77% showed deficiency, 61.36% were having insufficiency, and only 23.86% were having sufficient vitamin D status. Medical students were four times more likely to be deficient compared to faculty. This difference was statistically highly significant (P = 0.003). Similarly, the mean serum 25(OH)D levels was 17.46 ng/mL among the medical students compared to the mean level of 37.07 ng/mL among faculty giving a large difference of almost 20 ng/mL. This difference was again statistically highly significant (P < 0.0003). Conclusion: Besides the overall high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the study sample, there was an intergenerational difference in the levels of vitamin D, indicating that the younger generation is more vitamin D deficient compared to the older generation. |
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