Vitamin D Levels in Dermatologists and Residents of Dermatology in Different Areas of Colombia: a Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is considered as a pandemic. Now, there are lots of publications documenting this deficiency in patients with osteopenia and / or osteoporosis; however, there are no studies either in Colombia or Latin America that evaluate vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in a healthy population, or in dermatologists, who can be susceptible to acquire this deficiency by the long working hours and the lack of sun exposure. Objective: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in dermatologists and residents of dermatology in Colombia and to establish if the area of origin was associated with vitamin D levels. Methodology: This is a pilot, observational, cross-sectional and analytical study in which dermatologists and dermatology residents attending to the 2016 Colombian Congress of Dermatology were included. All participants were given a questionnaire; a physical exam was performed to them and their levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were measured as well. Results: 100 participants were included in this study: their average age was 39 years; 67% of them were women, with a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency of 96% and with a mean of vitamin D concentration of 18.20 ng/ml. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in dermatologists and residents of dermatology in Colombia. With this population, some preventive interventions are suggested due to the high morbimortality related to such deficiency.