SERUM VITAMIN D LEVELS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

OBJECTIVE To assess the vitamin D insufficiency in postmenopausal women and to study the factors associated with vitamin D insufficiency.METHODS It is a cross-sectional study conducted in postmenopausal women attending the gynecology outpatient clinic. Women who were previously treated with vitamin D supplements, HRT, non ambulatory women and women with chronic renal disease were excluded. The sample size of 80 was calculated to detect a prevalence of 65 percent with a precision range of 10 percent and 95 percent CI. A thorough history, clinical examination and vitamin D levels were done in all women. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured by electro chemiluminescent immunoassay and values more than 20ng per ml was considered as normal. Data was analyzed by SPSS software.RESULTS The mean vitamin D level was 18.64ng per ml in 80 postmenopausal women. The mean vitamin D was 24.68ng per ml in women with sunlight exposure of more than 2 hours per day (p value0.000) and vitamin D levels less than 20ng per ml was seen in 21.05 percent in these women with 2 hours of sunlight exposure per day. The other factors including age, body mass index, working condition, educational and socioeconomic status, years of menopause, diet pattern, milk intake and calcium supplementation did not affect the vitamin D levels significantly.CONCLUSION Vitamin D levels were less than 20ng per ml in 65 percent of the postmenopausal women in this study. Vitamin D levels correlated to duration of sunlight exposure. Regular exposure to sunlight around two hours per day influences the vitamin D levels significantly.