'80.63% of Indian urban men exhibit lower than normal levels of Vitamin D'

11 September 2015 | News | By BioSpectrum Bureau

'80.63% of Indian urban men exhibit lower than normal levels of Vitamin D'

Zone Wise Analysis: East Zone had highest percentage of abnormality with 86.6 percent

Zone Wise Analysis: East Zone had highest percentage of abnormality with 86.6 percent

SRL Diagnostics, has released a three year long pan India data mining survey (2012 - 2014) on vitamin D, which revealed that Indian urban men alarmingly low levels of vitamin D in their blood. Vitamin D sufficiency is essential for maximising bone health. The vitamin enhances intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Deficiency of vitamin D is very prevalent in Osteoporosis, a disease, which is associated with women in general after menopause, but also affects men.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), osteoporosis comes second to cardiovascular disease as a global health problem. This disease mainly affects the elderly population which is growing in number, thus putting a burden on the healthcare industry. As per the statistics, 1 out of 8 men and 1 out of 3 women in India are affected by osteoporosis. This makes India one of the largest countries with osteoporosis in the world. An adequate calcium intake and adequate amounts of vitamin D are important foundations for maintaining bone density, strength and to prevent osteoporosis.

Of the approximate 73 Lakh samples of men screened during this period for the analysis by SRL Diagnostics, 80.63 percent of the total samples had abnormal Vitamin D levels. Out of the total samples tested, the ones in the age groups of 31-45 years and 46 -60 years were reported to have highest Vitamin D levels.

East Zone had highest percentage of abnormality with 86.6 percent while northern and southern zone had 81.3 percent and 85.6 percent respectively. Among the four zones, western India showed the lowest percentage of abnormality with 69.8 percent.

Dr Leena Chatterjee, director, Fortis SRL Labs and SRL Strategic Initiatives said, "This analysis shows that not only women, but men are also equally susceptible to vitamin D deficiency in India. Our in-house data analysis on Vitamin D tests assessed nationwide abnormalities among men residing in various cities that represent diverse geographic origin, occupation, socio-economic status and food habits."

There are no discernible symptoms in early stages of deteriorating bone health but once the bones are weakened symptoms such as back pain, muscle pain, stooped posture and even bone fractures occur.

 

Any abnormality in bone health can be effectively treated if it is detected before significant bone loss has occurred. For example, the diagnosis of osteoporosis includes a complete medical history, x-rays, bone mineral density test and blood tests. This approach can identify the chances of osteoporosis, determine risk for fractures and measure one's response to its treatment.

 

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