Abstract
IntroductionIn many developing countries including Vietnam, data are lacking on vitamin D and calcium deficiencies whereas those deficiencies can play an important role in the development of bone health and possibly non-communicable diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall prevalence of vitamin D and calcium deficiencies in women and young children and their nutritional related risk factors.MethodsA cross-sectional study conducted among 595 women of reproductive age and 532 children <5 years from 19 provinces of Vietnam. For each individual, data concerning daily diet, socioeconomic group, anthropometric status were obtained, and plasma concentrations of calcium and vitamin D were measured.ResultsThe prevalence of hypovitaminosis D status was very high, with the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D<30 nmol/L) and insufficiency (25(OH)D between 30–49.9 nmol/L) being 17% and 40% in women and 21% and 37% in children, respectively. Using more liberal cut-off of 75 nmol/L, approximately 90% of the women and children were classified as having hypovitaminosis D. Overweight/obese women had a 2 times lower risk (OR = 0.46, [0.24–0.90]) for vitamin D deficiency than non-overweight and non-obese women. No participant had severe calcium deficiency but moderate and mild hypocalcaemia (plasma calcium concentrations between 1.15-0.9 mmol/L for mild deficiency and between 0.9-0.8 mmol/L for moderate deficiency) affected respectively 14% and 83% of the women with 97% of the children having mild hypocalcaemia. Women and children consumed about 1% of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for vitamin D and less than 43% of the RNI for calcium.ConclusionOur study suggests that calcium and vitamin D deficiencies represent a major public health concern in Vietnam. Thus, actions to improve the vitamin D and calcium status of the Vietnamese population should be considered.
Highlights
In many developing countries including Vietnam, data are lacking on vitamin D and calcium deficiencies whereas those deficiencies can play an important role in the development of bone health and possibly non-communicable diseases
Study Design and Sampling In 2009, a nationwide food consumption survey was carried in Vietnam among young children and women of reproductive age from 7,680 households randomly selected using a stratified 2-stage cluster sampling procedure with probability proportionate to size (104 urban and 408 rural clusters)
592 women and 525 children from 592 households were included, with 50% living in an urban setting (Table 1)
Summary
In many developing countries including Vietnam, data are lacking on vitamin D and calcium deficiencies whereas those deficiencies can play an important role in the development of bone health and possibly non-communicable diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall prevalence of vitamin D and calcium deficiencies in women and young children and their nutritional related risk factors. Studies among Asian children and African American teenagers suggested that low dietary intake of calcium induce the development of Vitamin. Several studies have suggested that vitamin D supplementation is involved in reducing cardiovascular diseases and risk [6]. Another study followed 3,000 Caucasian patients who were routinely referred to coronary angiography for seven years and found that patients with severe hypovitaminosis D, defined as 25(OH)D ,25 nmol/L, had a risk of dying from heart failure or sudden cardiac death that was three to five times greater than among patients with optimal levels of vitamin D [8]. Vitamin D may offer preventive and therapeutic benefits but the role of vitamin D is complex and requires further trials to define whether non-skeletal effects can be directly attributed to the increase of vitamin D intake [9]
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