High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Critical reviews in food science and nutrition Vol. 63; no. 19; pp. 3602 - 3611
• Main Authors: Jiang, Zhiwei, Pu, Rui, Li, Na, Chen, Chaozhen, Li, Jialu, Dai, Wei, Wang, Yuchen, Hu, Jinxing, Zhu, Danji, Yu, Qiong, Shi, Yuan, Yang, Guoli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 26.07.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; altitude; Anemia; Asia; Asia - epidemiology; blood serum; Calciferol; Chronic conditions; Dermatitis; diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Fatty liver; food science; gender; Global Health; Hepatitis; Humans; Liver diseases; lupus erythematosus; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; Meta-analysis; Metabolic disorders; nutrition; Osteopenia; Prevalence; Public health; systematic review; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Thyroiditis; Vitamin D; Vitamin D Deficiency; Vitamin deficiency; Asia; meta-analysis; systematic review; Asia; vitamin D; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D
• ISSN: 1040-8398; 1549-7852; 1549-7852
• DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1990850

Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide health problem. However, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Asian populations is unclear. The aims of our study were to investigate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its association with different health outcomes in Asia. Searches for studies published from January 2009 to January 2021 were performed in the MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. This study was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42021229841). In total, 472 studies with 746,564 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration was 49.39 nmol/L; 20.93% of the participants had 25(OH)D levels <25 nmol/L, 22.82% had levels <30 nmol/L, 57.69% had levels <50 nmol/L, and 76.85% had levels <75 nmol/L. This review found that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Asia is high. The factors significantly related to vitamin D deficiency were gender, age, altitude, region, and specific diseases (diabetes, cancer, fracture, systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], fatty liver disease, osteopenia, thyroiditis, anemia, hepatitis, metabolic diseases, and dermatitis). These findings may serve as the foundation for more detailed public health strategies and policies on this issue. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.1990850