Objectives: To estimate the burden of Vitamin D deficiency in people from different geographical areas of Pakistan.
Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised specimens of subjects tested for 25-hydroxy D at the clinical laboratory between September 2010 and September 2011. Serum samples received from the phlebotomy centres all over Pakistan and the main laboratory in Karachi were included. SPSS 19 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Of the 60937 specimens in the study, 18721(30.7%) related to men. The overall mean age was 40.5±19.7 years, and median 25-hydroxy D level was 13.5ng/ml (interquartile range: 25.1-7.4 ng/ml).Overall, mean log 25-hydroxy D was 1.14±0.39ng/ml (median: 13.5ng/ml; interquartile range: 25.1-7.4 ng/ml). Out of the total, 40279(66.1%) subjects were vitamin D-deficient.