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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1482910
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding Obesity to Determine the Best Therapeutic Option: From Lifestyle Interventions to Therapies View all 11 articles

Hypovitaminosis D in university workers in Southern Ecuador: interactions between gender and lifestyle

Provisionally accepted
Patricia Diaz Patricia Diaz 1*Marcela Cadena Marcela Cadena 1Martha E. Montalvan Martha E. Montalvan 2Kleber Garrochamba Kleber Garrochamba 1Paula Calderón Paula Calderón 1Gloria Carrión Gloria Carrión 1Sergio Santana Sergio Santana 3
  • 1 Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
  • 2 Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador
  • 3 Clinical Laboratory Service Hospital Pediatrico Docente Juan Manuel Marquez Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background Hypovitaminosis D may be common in tropical countries and is linked to disorders of phospho-calcium metabolism, rickets, muscle pain, immune system deficiencies, and increased susceptibility to microbial infections. Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in apparently healthy university workers in Loja, Ecuador. Methods: A cross-sectional study was completed in a private Ecuadorian university from May 2023 to September 2023, involving 440 participants. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire created to assess risk factors influencing vitamin D levels. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH)D concentrations were measured utilizing immunoenzymatic methods. Altered states (insufficiency or deficiency) of vitamin D were defined with serum values < 30 ng/mL. Associations between vitamin D status and selected determinants were analyzed with independence tests, with significance set at p < 0.05. Where possible, odds ratios (OR) were calculated using logistic regression. Results: The sample consisted of 60.9% faculty members and 39.1% administrative staff; 42.7% were men and 57.3% were women, with an average age of 41.9 ± 7.6 years. Only 2.7% of participants were aged 60 years or older. The mean serum 25-(OH)D concentration was 19.5 ± 6.8 ng/mL. Altered 25-(OH)D levels were found in 93.4% of participants, with 94.0% showing decreased serum 25-(OH)D concentrations and 1.6% displaying deficiency states. Hypovitaminosis D was associated with sex (OR = 2.40; 95 % CI: 1.3 -5.57; p < 0.05) and sunscreen use (OR = 0.36; 95 % IC: 0.13 -0.99; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Hypovitaminosis D was almost universal among the apparently healthy university workers studied. The findings suggest that both sex and sunscreen use may independently or jointly contribute to hypovitaminosis D in these individuals. Further studies will be required to clarify this interplay.

    Keywords: Vitamin D, deficiency, Insufficiency, Sun exposure, indoors, outdoors

    Received: 19 Aug 2024; Accepted: 13 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Diaz, Cadena, Montalvan, Garrochamba, Calderón, Carrión and Santana. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Patricia Diaz, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador

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