{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]],"date-time":"2026-10-28T16:51:14Z","timestamp":1793206274833,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]],"date-time":"2021-05-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620604800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]],"date-time":"2021-05-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620604800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Women's Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a serious public health problem, even in sun-drenched cities like Karachi, Pakistan. We investigated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its association with sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measures, and lifestyle factors among premenopausal and postmenopausal women (n\u2009=\u2009784).<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect information and serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured after the interviews.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>A total of 57% of women were vitamin D deficient with higher vitamin D deficiency found among premenopausal women (64.7%) compared to postmenopausal women (49%). The median serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (IQR) were 16.7\u00a0ng\/ml (IQR 9.8\u201330.0). Factors associated with vitamin D deficiency were lower socioeconomic status (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.15\u20133.48), younger age with highest vitamin D deficiency found in\u2009&lt;\u200935\u00a0years of age group (OR 3.11; 95% CI 1.76\u20135.51), and winter season (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.07\u20132.15) after adjusting for multiple confounders. The use of vitamin D supplement (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.38\u20130.92) and vigorous exercise (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.05\u20130.80) were protective against vitamin D deficiency.\n<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The study shows a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, with detrimental health effects, among younger women belonging to lower socioeconomic status and during the winter season. The use of vitamin D supplements and vigorous exercise were protective measures. Public health campaigns are needed for education and awareness about vitamin D deficiency to improve vitamin D status for younger women living in poor environments.\n<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-021-01339-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]],"date-time":"2021-05-10T15:04:05Z","timestamp":1620659045000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Frequency and determinants of vitamin D deficiency among premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Karachi Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Uzma","family":"Shamsi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iqbal","family":"Azam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Azra","family":"Shamsi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dua","family":"Shamsi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Callen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"1339_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mariani J, Gimenez VMM, Bergam I, Tajer C, Antonietti L, Inserra F, et al. 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The ethical approval was obtained by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Adelaide, Australia (H-2014-111) and the Ethical Review Committees of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi Pakistan (3074-CHS-ERC-14). Informed consent was obtained using the Patient Information Sheet and Consent form. Participants were clearly informed about the objectives and procedures of the study, their rights and commitments, and the benefits and risks involved. If the patients agreed to participate, they were asked to sign the consent paper. The consent form of the study was provided both in English and the local language of Urdu. If unable to read the consent form, the form was read out to participants and informed consent was taken verbally.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"194"}}