title: Vitamin D status in healthy Moroccan men and women aged 50 years and older: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: This study aimed to compare the vitamin D status in healthy Moroccan men and women aged 50 years and older. A total of 186 Moroccan women and 68 men, who had no previous diagnosis of osteoporosis, were recruited prospectively. We found in this study a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D with no difference between men and women.
  
  
  
  The main purpose of this study was to describe and compare the vitamin D status, parathormone, calcium, and phosphate of healthy Moroccan men and women aged 50 years and older.
  
  
  
  We conducted two cross-sectional studies, in postmenopausal women from October 2008 to November 2009 and in men over 50 years old, from December 2009 to August 2010. A total of 186 Moroccan women and 68 men, who had no previous diagnosis of osteoporosis, were recruited prospectively. For the definition of hypovitaminosis D, the preferred level for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) insufficiency, which is now recommended by many experts, is 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L), and the levels below 10 ng/ml (25 nmol/L) indicate deficiency.
  
  
  
  The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in men and women was 4.4 and 8.6 %, respectively, and the prevalence of vitamin D(25(OH) D) insufficiency in men and women were 85.2 and 77.4 %, respectively. In men and women, no correlations were found between intact parathormone (PTHi) and 25(OH) D (r = 0.056).
  
  
  
  Despite a sunny environment, we found in this study a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (insufficiency + deficiency) in Moroccan men over 50 years old and postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco. a.elmaataoui@uiz.ac.ma.|Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Casablanca, Morocco. a.elmaataoui@uiz.ac.ma.
authors.forename: Aissam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El Maataoui
authors.affiliation: Biochemical Laboratory, Military Hospital, Mohamed V university, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Asmae
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biaz
authors.affiliation: Biochemical Laboratory, Military Hospital, Mohamed V university, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Machtani
authors.affiliation: Biochemical Laboratory, Military Hospital, Mohamed V university, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouhsain
authors.affiliation: Biochemical Laboratory, Military Hospital, Mohamed V university, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Abdellah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dami
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Department, Military Hospital, Mohamed V university, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Abdellah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El Maghraoui
authors.affiliation: Biochemical Laboratory, Military Hospital, Mohamed V university, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Zohra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ouzzif
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco / Q000453:epidemiology; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D
keywords: Prevalence; Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D; Vitamin D deficiency; vitamin D insufficiency