Prevalence and trends of Vitamin D deficiency in a Saudi Arabian population: A five-years retrospective study from 2017-2021

Yahya Madkhali¹Balamurugan Janakiraman²Faisal Alsubaie¹Olayan Albalawi³Faizan Z Kashoo^4*Saleh Alrashidy⁵Mohamad Alturki⁵Mehrunnisha Ahmad⁶Md Dilshad Manzar⁶

• ¹Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia., Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
• ²SRM College of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu 603203, India, Tamil Nadu, India
• ³Department of Statistics , Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
• ⁴Department of Physical Therapy and Health rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁵Second Health cluster,king khaled majmaah hospital,medical laboratory department, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁶Department of nursing, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia, Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Vitamin D [25(OH)D] deficiency poses a significant global health concern, especially prevalent in developing nations. This retrospective cross-sectional study, conducted at King Khaled Hospital in Majmaah, aimed to investigate the prevalence and trends of vitamin D deficiency among 22,335 individuals from the Saudi population from 2017 to 2021. The population for this study includes new cases visiting hospitals for routine health check-ups or related to various medical conditions, as well as individuals visiting screening camps outside hospitals in remote areas and schools. Patient data, specifically [25(OH)D] concentration measured through blood samples, were assessed by ROCH COBAS e-411 analyzers. The findings revealed a period prevalence of 67.3% (n=15,025) for [25(OH)D] deficiency (< 30 ng/ml). This included n=6,274 (28.1%) with insufficient (20 -29 ng/ml), n=8,014 (35.9%) with deficient concentration (<20 to 7 ng/ml), and n=737 (3.3%) with severe (< 7 ng/ml) [25(OH)D] concentration. Females were predominantly affected, n=10,442 (69.5%), compared to males, n=4,583 (30.5%). The most affected age group was 10-19 years old, with a mean concentration of [25(OH)D] as low as 21.1 ± 11.9 ng/ml. Trend analysis revealed a significant decrease in vitamin D deficiency prevalence from 32% to 9% between 2017 and 2020, with a slight increase to 18% in 2021. The findings of this study necessitate interventions based on age-specific patterns, providing crucial insights for targeted public health strategies aimed at enhancing vitamin D status in the Saudi population, particularly among the most affected groups such as females and younger individuals within the 10-19-year age group.