ISSN: 2641-9459
Authors: Goswami S*, Gupta U, Sengupta N, Sahana PK, and Baidya A
Context: Due to lack of adequate sunlight exposure, children and adolescents, particularly girls are at risk of developing Vitamin D deficiency with subsequent health consequences. Obesity, which is increasing in prevalence due to sedentary habits, is also associated with Vitamin D deficiency. However, Indian data on Vitamin D status of adolescent girls with reference to obesity is lacking. Objective: To study the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency and to find its association with body composition and obesity parameters in adolescent schoolgirls in Kolkata. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational, single centre study. 160 adolescent schoolgirls (10-18 years) with no known illness were assessed for weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist hip ratio (WHR), visceral fat content (VFC) and serum 25(OH) D level Results: Mean serum 25(OH) D level was 18.7±12.1 ng/ml. 77% were Vitamin D deficient (<20ng/ml) and 13% had vitamin D insufficiency (21-29 ng/ml). In Spearman’s coefficient test BMI was positively correlated with serum 25(OH) D level (r=0.165, p=0.037), negatively correlated with WHR (r=-0.329, p=0.0008) but no significant correlation was found with VFC (r=-0.055, p=0.491). Linear regression analysis also revealed significant negative correlation of serum 25(OH) D with WHR (coefficient -48.902, p=0.0002, 95%CI -73.977±-23.827). Receiver operating characteristic ROC) curve analysis showed WHR cut off 0.92 having 78.9% accuracy in predicting serum 25(OH) D level of 20 ng/ml, with 75.6% sensitivity and 32.8% specificity. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in adolescent schoolgirls in Kolkata. In this group, obesity is inversely correlated with Vitamin D status with waist hip ratio being a strong negative predictor of Vitamin D status.
Keywords: Vitamin D, Obesity, Adolescent; Body Mass Index; Waist Hip Ratio
