AUTHOR=Villasis-Keever Miguel Angel , Zurita-Cruz Jessie Nallely , Garduño-Espinosa Juan , López-Alarcón Mardya , Barradas Vázquez Aly Sugey , Miranda-Novales María Guadalupe , Parra-Ortega Israel , López-Martinez Briseida , García Heladia , Klünder-Klünder Miguel 

TITLE=Factors associated with vitamin D deficiency in health care workers exposed to SARS-CoV-2: a cross-sectional study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1440185

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2024.1440185

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Introduction</title><p>Globally, up to 76.6% of the population may be affected by vitamin D (VD) deficiency, which has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. This underscores the importance of further research into VD supplementation, particularly for health care workers, who are at higher risk due to indoor work environments and dietary challenges associated with shift schedules.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Objective</title><p>This study aimed to identify factors associated with VD deficiency in Mexican health care workers exposed to SARS-CoV-2.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Materials and methods</title><p>We conducted a cross-sectional study from June 2020 to January 2021 among frontline health care workers treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Blood samples were collected to measure 25-hydroxy VD levels via radioimmunoassay. We also assessed previous COVID-19 infection and comorbidities that could influence VD levels.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Results</title><p>The study included 468 health care workers. The median serum VD concentration was 16.6 ng/mL. VD deficiency was found in 69.4% (<italic>n</italic> = 325) of participants, while only 5.1% (<italic>n</italic> = 24) had normal levels. Those with type 2 diabetes (13.3 ng/mL vs. 17.1 ng/mL) or obesity (15.7 ng/mL vs. 17.1 ng/mL) had significantly lower VD levels than their counterparts (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001 and <italic>p</italic> = 0.049, respectively). No significant differences were found among participants with high blood pressure. Multivariate analysis revealed that type 2 diabetes was independently associated with VD deficiency.</p></sec><sec id="sec5"><title>Conclusion</title><p>There is a high prevalence of VD deficiency among health care workers, which is potentially linked to both personal health factors and occupational conditions.</p></sec>