Washington DC: Are you stuck behind your office desk for most of the day? Your nine to five job could be an important factor putting you at high risk for vitamin D deficiency.
Shift workers, health workers and in-house workers in particular are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency, suggest researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada.
Understanding the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in different professions could improve public health interventions and prevention efforts.
“Our findings suggest that occupation is an important factor that may contribute to suboptimal vitamin D levels. Regular screening of vitamin D levels in risk groups should be considered For future clinical and public practice guidelines Workplace wellness programs could include education on the importance of adequate levels of vitamin D. This could help prevent adverse outcomes related to vitamin D deficiency, such as metabolic disorders, disorders Psychiatric and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. ”
The researchers found that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was higher among shift workers (80% of individuals), followed by indoor workers (77%) and health students (72%). Among health professionals, vitamin D deficiency rates vary depending on whether they were students, medical residents (65%), medical practitioners (46%), nurses (43%) or other health professionals (43%). .
Dr. Straube said: “The production of vitamin D by the body is dependent on exposure to the sun and UV rays, so any activity that reduces exposure tends to reduce vitamin D levels. Deprivation of sunlight in the Young medical professionals, workers, puts them at greater risk of vitamin D deficiency and deficiency. ”
It was also found that a high percentage of indoor workers (91%) had vitamin D insufficiency, which means that their vitamin D levels were not necessarily as low as those found in people with vitamin D deficiency but below those Recommended for health. In comparison, 48% of outdoor workers had vitamin D deficiency, while 75% had vitamin D insufficiency.
To assess vitamin D, deficiency and insufficiency levels in different occupations and identify groups of at-risk workers, the authors conducted a systematic review of 71 peer-reviewed journal articles that included 53,425 individuals in total and covered a range of latitudes in Tanto The northern hemisphere as the southern hemisphere.
The review may be limited by lack of agreement on the definition of vitamin D deficiency, different methodologies for assessing vitamin D levels in included studies, and studies taking place at different latitudes, although vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency does not Appear to depend on Study location.
The authors caution that heterogeneity between studies may make the conclusions derived from their combined data less reliable.
The study has been published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.
