Prevalence and risk factors of vitamin D deficiency in patients with widespread musculoskeletal pain

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide common health problems. Vitamin D deficiency in adults has been associated with proximal muscle weakness, skeletal mineralization defect, and an increased risk of falling. Patients with vitamin D deficiency commonly complain of widespread pain in the body. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in patients complaining of widespread musculoskeletal pain. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 8457 patients with widespread musculoskeletal pain (7772 females, 685 males), aged 46.7 (range 20-100) years were included. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured with ELISA method. Patients were classified into two groups: 1) Patients with vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) and 2). Patients without vitamin D deficiency ( >20 ng/ml). Results: Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was found to be 71.7%. A binary logistic regression model showed that low 25(OH)Vit D level was associated with gender, age and month in which 25(OH) hypovitaminosis was determined. The risk of low 25(OH) Vit D was found to be 2.15 times higher in female patients and 1.52 times higher on March and 1.55 times higher on April. Conclusion: This study indicates that Vitamin D deficiency should be taken into consideration in patients with widespread musculoskeletal pain, and some precautions such as sunbathe during summer should be recommended patients having risk of vitamin D deficiency.