vitamin d deficiency among female nurses of children’s medical center hospital and its related factors

vitamin d deficiency is one of the most preventable challenges worldwide. the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among female nurses working at children’s medical center hospital in tehran, iran, due to the risk factor of being a notably long period indoors and the fact that their health status may have consequences on the process of patients’ treatment. a total of 114 female nurses who were at least 20 years old entered the study voluntarily, and a questionnaire was applied to collect information on lifestyle and other factors associated with vitamin d deficiency. a sample of blood was taken to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin d (25-ohd) and cut off value to indicate deficiency was considered below 10ng/ml, and the amounts of 10-29ng/ml were declared insufficient. the mean of 25-ohd was 11.7±9.3ng/ml. a total of 79 subjects (69.3%) had a deficient level of vitamin d, 28 subjects (24.6%) had an insufficient level and only 7 subjects (6.1%) had sufficient level of vitamin d. the deficiency was more noticeable in the age group of 26-35 years old. prevalence of vitamin d deficiency had a significant correlation with younger subjects ( p <0.001). there was no significant association among other factors such as body mass index (bmi), health status complications, regular exercise, and duration of sun exposure. high prevalence of vitamin d deficiency in the study population leads to emphasise the need to screen health care workers for vitamin d levels.