Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone important for the normal functioning of the body. It is produced through skin exposure to sunlight and from the diet. Although Ghana is located in the tropics where sunlight is abundant, factors like culture, diet, skin pigmentation, variation in the ozone layer, and geographical area influence the optimization of vitamin D concentration. It is imperative to evaluate the interplay between sunshine exposure, proinflammatory cytokines, and mediators of vitamin D metabolism and their relationship to vitamin D status in three geographical sections among apparent healthy Ghanaians.

Methods and results

In a cross-sectional study, a total of five hundred (500) healthy blood donors from three geographical areas in Ghana were enrolled. Their

SUBMITTER: Sakyi SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8213472 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature