80.63% of Indian Urban Men Exhibit Lower than Normal Levels of Vitamin D:SRL Study

By 121 News

Chandigarh 07^th September:- SRL Diagnostics, released a three year long pan India data mining survey (2012 – 2014)on vitamin D, which revealed that Indian urban men alarmingly low levels of vitamin D in their blood. Vitamin D sufficiency is essential for maximising bone health. The vitamin enhances intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Deficiency of vitamin D is very prevalent in Osteoporosis, a disease, which is associated with women in general after menopause, but also affects men.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), osteoporosis comes second to cardiovascular disease as a global health problem. This disease mainly affects the elderly population which is growing in number, thus putting a burden on the healthcare industry. As per the statistics, 1 out of 8 men and 1 out of 3 women in India are affected by osteoporosis. This makes India one of the largest countries with osteoporosis in the world. An adequate calcium intake and adequate amounts of vitamin D are important foundations for maintaining bone density, strength and to prevent osteoporosis. Of the approximate 73 Lakh samples of men screened during this period for the analysis by SRL Diagnostics, 80.63% of the total samples had abnormal Vitamin D levels. Out of the total samples tested, the ones in the age groups of 31—45 years and 46 —60 years were reported to have highest Vitamin D levels. The analysis showed that prevalence of this abnormality was highest among men in the eastern zone of the country.

Dr Leena Chatterjee, Director - Fortis SRL Labs & SRL Strategic Initiatives said that this analysis shows that not only women, but men are also equally susceptible to vitamin D deficiency in India. I.Our in-house data analysis on Vitamin D tests assessed nationwide abnormalities among men residing in various cities that represent diverse geographic origin, occupation and socio-economic status and food habits. He added that people who spend a lot of time sitting indoors are at higher risks of vitamin D deficiency than those who are more active. Also timely diagnosis of Vitamin D abnormalities can help one to prevent from the fallout like osteopenia, osteoporosis and osteomalacia, increasing the risk of fracture. Unlike osteoporosis, which is a painless disease, osteomalacia causes aching bone pain that is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia or chronic pain syndrome or is simply dismissed as depression. Further more, Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness, increasing the risk of falls and fractures, and should be aggressively treated with pharmacological doses of vitamin D.