Vitamin D Deficiency in a Sunny Country: The Missing Chain

Vitamin D deficiency continues to be an important health problem around the world. It has been reported in healthy children, young adults, middle age adults and elderly, and common among both males and females. Recent studies have shown that Vitamin D deficiency or insufficieny are associated with other pathologic conditions. Vitamin D plays an important role in skeletal development and bone health maintenance. Because the symptoms and signs of Vitamin D deficieny are insidious, or nonspecific, it often goes unrecognized and therefore untreated. In Saudi Arabia, with abundant sunshine, Vitamin D deficiency remains a major public health problem, due to lack of exposure to sun in the appropriate times. This review, highlights the history of vitamin D and it's deficiency in Saudi Arabia, causes, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and diagnosis and suggests strategies for its prevention and treatment.