ABSTRACT:

Objective: The  aim  of  this  work  is  to  study  the  serum  levels  of  25-hydroxyvitamin  D3  in  a  sample  of  healthy Syrians in the city of Homs.Method: A  cross-sectional  study,  including  690 ostensibly  healthy  participants,  was  conducted  at the  National Hospital of Homs. Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were measured using chemiluminescent immunoassay .Results: The overall prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy (insufficiency, deficiency, and severe deficiency) in the study samples was 76.5%. Additionally, 49% of the samples had vitamin D deficiency, with 18.5% suffering from severe deficiency. Furthermore, levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in females were lower than in males (11.3±2.3 ng/ml  versus 39.6±11.28 ng/ml, respectively, p < 0.0001). Veiled women had serum levels of  vitamin D lower than  non-veiled  women,  11.3±2.5  ng/ml  versus  25.5±3.2  ng/ml,  respectively,  p  <  0.0001.  Female  gender  and clothing style were identified as independent risk factors for vitamin D deficiency .Conclusion: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was very common in the study population, despite the sunny weather in Homs city most of the year. Further studies with larger groups, including other Syrian governorates, are needed to elucidate lifestyle and sociocultural behavior risk factors for vitamin D