title: Risk factors and prevalence of vitamin d deficiency among Iranian women attending two university hospitals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies indicated that there is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Middle East countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and assess some risk factors of vitamin D deficiency among women attending our clinics in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred and thirty-eight women aged 20-80 years were entered in this cross-sectional study from 2011 to 2012. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels were measured in all participants after recruiting their demographic and anthropometric data and past medical histories. Deficiency was defined as levels less than 35 nmol/L and classified as mild (≥ 25 nmol/L), moderate (12.5-25 nmol/L) and severe (≤ 12.5 nmol/L).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 69%; mild, moderate and severe degrees were seen in %10.4, %38.3, and %20.3 respectively. Analysis of logistic regression shows that age (OR:0.96, CI: 0.93-0.97), menopause (OR: 0.44, CI: 0.21-0.99) and consumption of multivitamin supplements (OR: 2.67, CI: 1.4-5) were independent predictive factors for Vitamin D deficiency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Iranian women especially in reproductive ages.
authors.affiliation: Research Development Center, Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Sadaf
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alipour
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Azin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saberi
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seifollahi
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Dr. Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Nooshin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shirzad
authors.affiliation: Research Development Center, Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Ladan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hosseini
keywords: Deficiency; Iran; Prevalence; Vitamin D