Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency amongan Elderly people

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common at all ages, and although vitamin D deficiency has been documented as a frequent problem in studies of young adults, elderly persons, and children in other countries, there are limited data on the prevalence of assess the status of serum vitamin D pathway with serum vitamin D level in elderly people in Iran. Design: We measured the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in 3156 subjects aged 60 to 90 years old men and women in ShafaghlabLaboratory of Iran. Results were collected and the data were analyzed with SPSS, chi square tests and linear regression. Results: 89% of the all had 25-OH-vitamin D deficiency (defined as a level below 20 ng/mL), and 67% had a severe deficiency (below 10 ng/mL). Only 4% had levels in the target range (30–60 ng/mL); none had a level above100 ng/mL. Conclusion: Our findings revealed higher prevalence of osteoporosis in elderly people especially in women compared to other studies in Iran, and also showed high prevalence rate of vitamin D deficiency. Persons of very advanced age need a better supply of vitamin D not only to keep their bones healthy, but also to lessen the risk of falls and fractures.