Abstract
A survey of the vitamin D nutritional status in the Saudi population was conducted. The study included males and females living in different regions in Saudi Arabia. The age of the volunteers was from < 6 years up to 90 years. No significant difference was detected in the plasma levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OHD) between overall children (16.5 +/- 8.1 ng/ml), and overall adults (16.5 +/- 7.8 ng/ml). Male children, < 6 years of age, have a significantly higher level than older subjects, whereas the female adolescents (age 13-18 years) and preschool children have the lowest plasma 25-OHD level in comparison with the other groups. No significant correlation was detected between plasma 25-OHD and age. Saudi males have significantly higher 25-OHD than females. Regarding the house type, occupants of tents have significantly higher 25-OHD (20.9 +/- 8.5 ng/ml) than those occupying mud houses (17.8 +/- 7.4 ng/ml) villas (16.0 +/- 7.7 ng/ml) or brick houses (15.4 +/- 8 ng/ml).