Vitamin D status in healthy postmenopausal Iranian women

BACKGROUND: There are few epidemiologic studies on vitamin D status of postmenopausal women in the Middle East countries. This study aimed to investigate the 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in postmenopausal women living in the north-west of Iran. METHODS: Using the records of the local household registry, 300 cases were enrolled by simple random sampling. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were determined by fully automated chemiluminescent immunoassay. In addition, the study included survey questions regarding age, body weight and height, use of supplements and skin protection agents and clinical and reproductive histories. RESULTS: Our cases had the mean age of 63.41 ± 4.64 years with menopause duration of 16.79 ± 6.15 years. Median and interquartile 25-75 range of vitamin D were 14.20 ng/ml and 7-37.2 ng/ml respectively. We found hypovitaminosis D [25(OH) D < 10 ng/ml] in 38.3% of our cases. Serum 25(OH) D concentrations were not significantly correlated with age or BMI. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that 25(OH) D levels in postmenopausal women of north-west Iran are low. Studies to elucidate and assess the dietary intake of vitamin D in elderly women of this region can be of further benefit.