Vitamin D and musculoskeletal status in Nova Scotian women who wear concealing clothing.
Bone and muscle weakness due to vitamin D deficiency is common among Muslim women who reside in sunny, equatorial countries. The purpose of this study was to determine if living in a northern maritime location additionally disadvantages women who wear concealing clothes. A cross-sectional matched pair design was used to compare women who habitually wore concealing clothing with women who dressed according to western norms. Each premenopausal hijab-wearing woman (n = 11) was matched by age, height, weight and skin tone with a western-dressed woman. Subjects were tested by hand grip dynamometry to assess muscular strength and by quantitative ultrasound at the calcaneus to assess bone status. Nutritional intake was obtained by 24 h recall. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (s-25(OH)D) status was determined in seven matched pairs. The hijab group had lower s-25(OH)D than women who wore western clothes (40 ± 28 vs. 81 ± 32 nmol/L, p= 0.01). Grip strength in the right hand was lower in the hijab-wearing women (p = 0.05) but this appeared to be due to less participation in intense exercise. Bone status did not differ between groups (p= 0.9). Dietary intake of vitamin D was lower in the hijab-wearers (316 ± 353 vs. 601 ± 341 IU/day, p= 0.001). This pilot study suggests that women living in a northern maritime location appear to be at risk for vitamin D insufficiency and therefore should consider taking vitamin D supplements.
School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. rani.ojah@dal.ca
Rani C I
RC
Ojah
Jo M
JM
Welch
D000328:Adult; D002111:Calcaneus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003020:Clothing; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009674:Nova Scotia / Q000453:epidemiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017697:Premenopause; D012067:Religion; D012307:Risk Factors; D013472:Sunlight; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D