Abstract
Background
Vitamin D plays an essential role in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism. Recent evidence suggests that vitamin D may also be important for a variety of non-skeletal outcomes including neuromuscular function, immunomodulation, and control of other hormonal system. It is well known that exposure of skin to direct sunlight is the most important source of vitamin D, so that according to many causes like fear of skin cancer, traditional clothing and spending most of the time indoors many Egyptian girls are exposed to vitamin D deficiency. Hypovitaminosis D is a widespread disorder in developing countries across all age groups, regardless of their latitude.
Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of vitamin D deficiency/sufficiency in a sample of Egyptian boys children.
Subjects and Methods
The present study was conducted on 80 boys age from (2-10) years old randomly selected from outpatient clinic of Ain Shams University and their healthy relative. We excluded girls, boys whose age<2 years or > 10 years, boys suffering from chronic illness or on drugs as corticosteroid and anti-epileptic drugs.
Results
The results demonstrate that all boys studied have vitamin D deficiency with (36.25%of them with mild vitamin D deficiency, 46.25%of them have moderate vitamin D deficiency, and 17.50% of them have severe vitamin D deficiency. There was positive correlation between vitamin D and sun exposure.