Knowledge and Perceptions of Vitamin D Deficiency Among the United Arab Emirates Population

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the Vitamin D deficiency awareness and perceptions between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population.
 Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among the population of two emirates at the UAE: Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
 Results: Overall, 434 participants completed the survey. Majority of people were aware of phenomenon of Vitamin D deficiency, but only 21.4% of them knew that sunlight is considered the main source of Vitamin D. Moreover, less than half of participants check their Vitamin D blood level regularly and around 55% of them follow-up with their physicians after completing the treatment. High proportion of participant females spend <1 h outdoors (60%) and use sunscreen daily (55%) that cause higher prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among females than males (83% vs. 42%).
 Conclusion: This research gives some insights regarding the UAE population’s awareness and perceptions of Vitamin D insufficiency. Decreased awareness of sunlight exposure as a major source of Vitamin D, in addition to lifestyle, contributed to Vitamin D deficiency problem among the UAE population, in general, and in females, in particular.

Evaluation of Self-Assessed State of Health and Vitamin D Knowledge in Emirati and International Female Students in United Arab Emirates (UAE)

“…Our results also highlight the low rate of vitamin D testing among Emirati and International undergraduate female students; as only half of our sample reported ever getting tested. These results are in line with the ones recently reported in the UAE by Ibrahim and Al-Tameemi (2019) among adults in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, where less than half of participants reported checking their blood Vitamin D blood regularly, and among adults in Al Ain, where only 43.4% of the participants reported that they were tested for vitamin D, and by Salmanpour et al (2016) in Sharjah. This finding is also common among undergraduate students elsewhere; Tariq et al (2020) reported that only 27.7% of undergraduate female students in Pakistan ever tested for vitamin D.…”

“…Our results add to the large body of evidence showing the poor knowledge about vitamin D, its health implications and sources among the general population and specifically undergraduate students around the world, in the Gulf region and the UAE (Janda et al, 2010;Babelghaith et al, 2017;Ibrahim and Al-Tameemi, 2019;Tariq et al, 2020). A recent study among adults in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah showed that only 21% of the participants knew that sunlight is the main source of Vitamin D (Ibrahim and Al-Tameemi, 2019). Similarly, a large study among university students in Canada (Boland et al, 2015) reported poor knowledge on vitamin D sources (26%), factors affecting its level (23%), its health effects (37%) and the recommended vitamin D intake (8%).…”

“…It is well documented that primary sources of vitamin D include exposure to UV rays, supplementation, Very Poor (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 and diet (Giustina et al, 2020). Modern dietary changes, lack of exercise, excessive heat, sun avoidance, and cultural habits are the main factors that predispose residents of the UAE to vitamin D deficiency (Al-Anouti et al, 2013;Salmanpour et al, 2016;Ibrahim and Al-Tameemi, 2019). These practices are widespread among university students in the UAE (Al Anouti et al, 2011;Al Amiry and Shahwan, 2020), and were likewise common in our sample.…”

“…Existing reports from the Gulf region, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provide evidence of a cluster of risk factors to vitamin D deficiency, including insufficient knowledge regarding the sources of vitamin D as well as the importance of adequate sun exposure. In addition, a few lines of evidence suggest a low knowledge regarding the health implications of vitamin D deficiency, coupled with a low testing rate and avoidance of vitamin D supplementation (Al Anouti et al, 2011;Salmanpour et al, 2016;Ibrahim and Al-Tameemi, 2019). Hence, the reports of an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency among Emiratis and residents of the UAE (Yammine and Al Adham, 2016;Bani-issa et al, 2017;Al Zarooni et al, 2019;Al Amiry and Shahwan, 2020), with a prevalence reaching 85% in some reports (Yammine and Al Adham, 2016).…”

Nutritional and General Awareness of Vitamin D Status among Adult Population in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…According to many studies, a region such as the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA), with a long sunny day duration, has recorded a very high incidence of VDD. These include over 90% of the population residing in the United Arab Emirates [9,14,15], around 80% of Saudis with different age groups [16,17], data from Iraq [8,13,[18][19][20][21], Qatar [22], and Jordan [23,24]. Similarly, deficiency is also prevalent among the American [1,4], Chines [25], Indian [26][27][28], British [5], and Norwegian [10] populations, among others.…”