Vitamin D Deficiency | Dr Ruhil Badiani | Family GP | Cornerstone Clinic Dubai

Vitamin D Deficiency

In the UAE, vitamin D deficiency is very common despite the year round sunshine. One reason for this is that we prefer to cover up, stay out of the sun and wear high factor sunscreen.

What is Vitamin D? How do we know if we are getting enough of it? How can we improve our Vitamin D levels? Dr Ruhil, UK Family GP, answers all of our questions around Vitamin D and the importance of it.

What is vitamin D?

Vitamin D is also known as the ‘Sunshine Vitamin’. It is a vitamin that has several important functions in the body:

• Maintains the health of bones and teeth.
• Supports the immune system, brain and nervous system.
• Important for diabetes management as it can regulate insulin levels.
• Helps with lung function and cardiovascular health.
• May help protect against cancer cell development.

There has been debate recently about how much vitamin D people need to stay healthy and how to tell whether we get enough of it and, in truth, it’s complicated. But one thing experts agree on is that vitamin D is vital to our health.

What is Vitamin D Deficiency?

Vitamin D deficiency is the state of having inadequate amounts of vitamin D in your body, which may cause health problems like brittle bones and muscle weakness. There may be no symptoms and doctors don’t routinely check vitamin D levels, so many people are deficient and don’t realize it.

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus, which are important to bone health. When a person is very vitamin D deficient, they cannot absorb dietary calcium well; having adequate levels is important to absorb adequate amounts of calcium from your diet. Healthy vitamin D levels also help to improve phosphorus absorption from your diet.

People typically get enough vitamin D from sun exposure: When sunlight hits the skin, the skin converts that ultraviolet radiation to vitamin D. People also get vitamin D from certain foods, including fish, egg yolks, and fortified milk and cereal or dietary supplements.

When vitamin D levels are low and the body isn’t able to properly absorb calcium and phosphorus, there is an increased risk of bone pain, bone fractures, muscle pain and muscle weakness. In older adults, severe vitamin D deficiency (levels less than 10 ng/mL) may also contribute to an increased risk of falls.

What causes Vitamin D deficiency?

People who don’t have adequate levels of vitamin D may be deficient for any of these reasons:

• Not enough exposure to sunlight
• Darker skin pigment
• Malnutrition
• Kidney or liver failure, which prevents the body from adequately processing vitamin D
• Certain medications
• Certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma
• A family history of vitamin D deficiency or childhood rickets

Additionally, some people have health conditions that make it difficult for them to absorb vitamin D, including:

• Inflammatory bowel disease(Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis)
• Celiac disease
• Cystic fibrosis
• People who have had bariatric surgery for weight loss
• People who have had sections of the small intestine removed (resection)
• A condition affecting the pancreas, such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency 

Most people with vitamin D deficiency don’t notice any symptoms. Others may notice vague symptoms that may be signs of any number of conditions.

Possible symptoms include:

• Muscle pain
• Bone pain
• Increased sensitivity to pain
• A tingly, “pins-and-needles” sensation in the hands or feet
• Muscle weakness in body parts near the trunk of the body, such as the upper arms or thighs
• Waddling while walking, due to muscle weakness in the hips or legs
• A history of broken bones
• Muscle twitches or tremors
• Muscle spasms
• Bowed legs (when the deficiency is severe)

Diagnosis of Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency can be easily checked through a simple blood test.

Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency

There are many types of vitamin D supplements available for the treatment of vitamin D deficiency.

Types of supplementation include:

• Vitamin D₂ supplements (ergocalciferol), which are derived from a plant source; Drisdol, is a trade name for a vitamin D₂
• Vitamin D₃ supplements (cholecalciferol), which come from an animal source.
• Calcidiol, a medication that’s a form of vitamin D₃, which may be prescribed when an individual has a health condition that leads to malabsorption, like cystic fibrosisor celiac disease

It is also important to make sure that you are consuming enough calcium as they work in conjunction to ensure strong bones and reduce the risk of fractures.

Prevention

As mentioned previously, the amount of vitamin D you need per day to maintain a normal level depends upon your skin color, sun exposure, diet, and underlying medical conditions.

In general, adults are advised to take a supplement containing 800 international units (20 micrograms) of vitamin D per day to maintain a normal vitamin D level. Older people who are confined indoors may have vitamin D deficiency even at this intake level.

All infants and children are advised to take a vitamin D supplement containing 400 international units (10 micrograms) of vitamin D, starting within days of birth. For infants and children, vitamin D is included in most nonprescription infant multivitamin drops. In some countries, it is possible to buy infant drops that contain only vitamin D.

Lengthy exposure to the sun or tanning beds is not recommended as a source of vitamin D, because of the risk of skin cancer.

Dr Ruhil Badiani is a British Family GP based at Cornerstone Clinic at the Grosvenor House Dubai. For an appointment, please kindly email info@cornerstoneclinic.ae or what’s app +971 50 494 6377.

www.cornerstoneclinic.ae

4 May 2023