Department of Pathology, King Fahd Hospital Dammam, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Horm Metab Res. 2010 May;42(5):364-8. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1248296. Epub 2010 Mar 8.
Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone metabolism and many cellular and immunological processes. Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with various chronic diseases especially rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults. Adequate vitamin D intake is of paramount importance to protect against bone metabolic diseases and prevent the occurrence of complications (e. g., fracture and bone pains). This study aimed at the evaluation of vitamin D levels in a cohort of healthy Saudi Arabs. The comprised 139 healthy subjects coming for regular blood donation. Participants had full clinical examination and evaluation of their calcium and vitamin D intake and the degree of exposure to sunlight. Serum 25-OH vitamin D was determined using Liasion chemiluminescent immunoassay and serum parathormone levels were determined using the Architect 2,000 immunochemiluminescent assay. Our results showed increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between Saudi Arabs (both males and females) in the studied group of subjects. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) did not correlate with serum vitamin D level in either male or female groups (p<0.01). Our data illustrate a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between Saudi Arabs and the importance for screening for vitamin D deficiency (irrespective of PTH level). We hypothesize that the reported vitamin D deficiency in the studied group of Saudi Arabs may reflect a possible inadequacy of the current level of vitamin D fortification of food products. We suggest that higher level of fortification of food products with vitamin D may be needed to compensate for the reduced skin vitamin D synthesis due to poor exposure to sunlight and to reverse this state of vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabs.
维生素 D 在骨骼代谢和许多细胞及免疫过程中起着关键作用。维生素 D 水平较低与各种慢性疾病有关，尤其是儿童佝偻病和成人骨质疏松症。足够的维生素 D 摄入对于预防骨骼代谢疾病和防止并发症（如骨折和骨痛）的发生至关重要。本研究旨在评估一组健康沙特阿拉伯人的维生素 D 水平。该队列包括 139 名前来定期献血的健康受试者。参与者进行了全面的临床检查和钙及维生素 D 摄入评估，以及阳光暴露程度评估。使用 Liaison 化学发光免疫分析法测定血清 25-羟维生素 D，使用 Architect 2000 免疫化学发光分析法测定血清甲状旁腺激素水平。我们的结果表明，在所研究的受试者组中，沙特阿拉伯男性和女性的维生素 D 缺乏症患病率均有所增加。男性或女性组的血清甲状旁腺激素（PTH）与血清维生素 D 水平均无相关性（p<0.01）。我们的数据说明了沙特阿拉伯人维生素 D 缺乏症的高患病率，以及筛查维生素 D 缺乏症（无论 PTH 水平如何）的重要性。我们假设在所研究的沙特阿拉伯人群中报告的维生素 D 缺乏可能反映了当前食品中维生素 D 强化水平的不足。我们建议需要提高食品中维生素 D 的强化水平，以弥补因阳光暴露不足而导致的皮肤维生素 D 合成减少，并扭转沙特阿拉伯人维生素 D 缺乏的这种状态。
