Vitamin D Sources and Consequences of Hypovitaminosis D: Knowledge and Awareness among Pre-Medical Year Students
Author(s): Mohan B Sannathimmappa, Vinod Nambiar, Shivaraj Gowda
Abstract
Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is a common and one of the neglected global medical problems. Vitamin D deficiency could lead to musculoskeletal disorders and also may be associated with systemic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, cancers, depression, cardiovascular, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. Sunlight is the major source of vitamin D. Apart from it, oily fishes, egg yolk, and milk products are the important dietary sources rich in vitamin D. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and awareness about vitamin D among pre-medical students of Oman Medical College.
Methodology: It is a cross sectional study and all the premedical year students were included in the study. The study was approved by the Institutional Research and Ethical committee and the study was conducted after obtaining informed consent from the students. A predesigned questionnaire to assess the knowledge of vitamin D was distributed to all the participants. The data was collected, tabulated and statistically analyzed using Microsoft Excel.
Results: A total of 127 students voluntarily participated in the study. Majority of the students (97.64%) were heard of vitamin D. However, with regards to knowledge about sources of vitamin D, consequences of hypovitaminosis D, and recommended daily intake of vitamin D is lacking among participants.
Conclusion: The study results revealed that premedical students have inadequate knowledge about vitamin D rich sources, problems associated with vitamin D deficiency, and recommended daily intake of vitamin D. Therefore it is essential to create awareness in them, so that they can adopt themselves and disseminate information among the public to have a better health status.
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