A SURVEY STUDY FOR VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY IN HEALTHY FEMALES IN KARBALA CITY FROM 3RD TO 6TH DECADE.

Background: Vitamin D , also known as the sunshine Vitamin , is produced by the body as a response to sun exposure , it can also be consumed in food or supplements (1). Vitamin D play?s an important roles in maintaining healthy bones and teeth , support the health of the immune system , regulate insulin level and aid diabetes management and support lung function. The daily requirement of vitamin; D is 4000 I U, however; the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has suggested that vitamin D toxicity is unlikely at daily in take below 10,1000 IU/day. The best day time of exposure to sunlight is from (10 am to 3 pm) (2). Purpose : To study prevalences of vitamin D deficiency amony healthy adult females in Karbala city. Subject: Two hundred healthy women aged more than 20 years old had been included in this study , whom were sampled from daily visitors of AL-Rasool medical lab during a period from March to April 2018 at Karbala city. Method: Vitamin D assay had been evaluated by Cobas e 411 analyzer (Roch company). Results: From 200 health females at a various age , 34 were within expected normal level of vitamin D (17%) , [26 optimal vitamin D, 6 upper normal and 2 excess but not toxic] and 166 were complains from vitamin D deficiency a different degree. (83%) as suboptimal vitamin D provision 38, slight to moderate 78, and sever deficiency 41 and very sever deficiency were 9. Conclusions: vitamin D deficiency was common in healthy women in Karbala city , social condition that reflected in our life style which lead to cover most body surface from direct sun exposure , reduce daily sport in addition to regular popular known causes , like some times deficient vitamin D sources from diet.