title: Pilot study of sunlight exposure and vitamin D status in Arab women of childbearing age.
abstract: Vitamin D deficiency is common in Arab women. In a pilot study we investigated the effect of sun exposure at recommended levels on the vitamin D status of Arab women. Eight healthy Arab women of childbearing age consented to expose their face, arms and hands for 15 minutes per day twice a week for 4 weeks within the privacy of their courtyard and to avoid changes in dietary vitamin D intake. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)] levels were measured pre- and post-intervention. Although vitamin D levels remained sub-optimal median serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly higher post-intervention (23.0 nmol/L) than pre-intervention (17.6 nmol/L). Extending sun exposure for more than 4 weeks should be investigated as part of strategies to improve vitamin D status in high-risk Arab women who lack outdoor sun exposure to the skin.
authors.affiliation: Center for Global Child Health, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. adekunle.dawodu@cchmc.org
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dawodu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kochiyil
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Altaye
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013472:Sunlight; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates / Q000453:epidemiology; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology