Vitamin D Status in Women with Different Clothing Styles and its Correlation with their Dietary Intake

Introduction: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in bone metabolism. Deficiency of vitamin D has been found to increase globally with the passing years. Many Indian women cover their bodies for religious and cultural reasons limiting the skin’s exposure to sunlight and therefore its ability to synthesize vitamin D is affected. This study aims to compare vitamin D status in non-hijabi, hijabi and niqabi (veiled) women from Mumbai and to correlate it with their dietary intake of vitamin D. Methods: 150 females, 50 in each group (Groups: 1. Non-hijabi, 2. Hijabi, 3. Niqabi) aged 18 to 45 years were selected for serum vitamin D blood test. Data was collected from each woman by administering a case report form, food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and 24 hour dietary recall. Results: The mean values of serum 25 (OH) D in group 1, 2 and 3 were 14.62 ng/ml, 18.11 ng/ml, and 18.62 ng/ml, respectively. The highest intake of vitamin D3 calculated via food frequency questionnaire was in group 3 (0.83 μg/day), then in group 2 (0.52 μg/day) and least in group 1 (0.41 μg/day). The association of dietary intake with serum 25 (OH) D status showed a statistically significant difference in the intake of vitamin D3 calculated from both 24 hour diet recall (p = 0.025) and food frequency questionnaire (p = 0.000) amongst those who had serum 25 (OH) D deficiency, insufficiency and sufficiency. Conclusion: Hypovitaminosis D status is alarmingly high in all the three groups irrespective of the clothing styles – non hijabi, hijabi and niqabi. Therefore, the clothing style of females should not be used as a pretext for the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency. It can also be concluded that there is a notable importance of dietary intake of vitamin D3 in maintaining sufficient vitamin D status. Along with sunlight exposure, it is important to consume supplements and foods rich in vitamin D to maintain adequate vitamin D status.