A Prospective Diagnostic Study Evaluating the Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency in a Cohort of Orthopaedic Trauma Patients

Vitamin D deficiency is very common in both developed and developing countries. This study was conducted to estimate the preval ence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in orthopedic trauma patients and subsequently make recommendations about vitamin D supplementation in them. A prospective diagnostic study was conducted including orthopedic trauma patients within the age ran ge of 21 - 50 years, between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2017. All the patients were subjected to estimation of blood 25 - hydroxyvitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25 - hydroxyvitamin D level less than 20 ng/mL and insufficiency was define d as a level between 20 and 30 ng/ml. 613 patients were tested for blood 25 - hydroxyvitamin D levels. It was observed that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency had an overall prevalence of 45.5% and 35.4%, respectively, in the orthopedic trauma patients. Overall deficiency prevalence in males and females was 44.3% and 47%, respectively. Most commonly affected patients belonged to age groups >36 years, while younger patients had lower prevalence of deficiency or insufficiency. Vitamin D deficiency and insuf ficiency were highly prevalent in this large population of orthopedic trauma patients. Vitamin D is an essential component of calcium metabolism and subsequently its adequate levels are important for bone healing. Establishing the prevalence of vitamin D d eficiency and insufficiency can help in making adequate supplementation of vitamin D in orthopedic trauma patients.