Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Women Attending Gynecological Clinic of Tertiary Care Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Hypovitaminosis D has been a matter of concern in Nepalese females with a high prevalence of up to 80%. The main aim of the study was to find the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in women attending the gynecology clinic of a tertiary hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 234 women attending the gynecological outpatient department of Grande International Hospital who had got their Vitamin D levels tested. Data were collected from the electronic database of the hospital from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020 after the ethical consideration from Institutional Review Committee-Grande International Hospital. A convenient technique was used. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed using Epi Info7 software.

Results: Among 1209 women who visited the clinic, 234(19.4%) women had their Vitamin D levels checked. Among them, Vitamin D deficiency <20ng/ml and insufficiency 20-39ng/ml were found in 50(21.3%) and 112(47.9%) patients respectively. Further analysis of 50 cases of Vitamin D deficiency showed mild deficiency in 45(90%). Furthermore, among 136 pregnant patients, Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were present in 32(23.5%) and 72(52.9%) respectively. Likewise, among 17 postmenopausal patients, 2(11.8%) were deficient and 8(47.1%) were insufficient. The mean Vitamin D level was 26.9ng/ml S.D 11.4.

Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of Hypovitaminosis D in the Nepalese female population. Vitamin D level was lower in pregnant females when compared to non-pregnant females.