The Concealed Hazard: Vitamin D Deficiency, Awareness, and Its Impact on Psychological Wellness among elderly

Hassan, Noha; Hafez, Sameer; A. Alshehri, Ahmad; MohamedAhmed Osman Abdalla, Abdalla; Khalifa Abdelhady, Hoda; Saad Abdullah Alwadei, Hanan; Abdelgadir Ahmed Hamed, Abdelelah; Eltaher Hamed Abdulrahman,, Elsadig; Elradhi Abdulrahman, Nahla; Khalil Elfaki, Nahid; Abdo Mohammed Alwesabi, Sadeq; Ateeg Abdelrahman Ahmed, Mohammed

doi:10.21608/niles.2024.278125.1083

The Concealed Hazard: Vitamin D Deficiency, Awareness, and Its Impact on Psychological Wellness among elderly

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Beni-Suef University, Egypt

² Community and Mental Health Nursing, Najran University, College of Nursing, Saudi Arabia

³ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, P.O. Box 1988, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia.

⁴ Physiology department, faculty of medicine, Najran university, Saudi Arabia

⁵ Physiology department, faculty of medicine, Azhar university, Assiut

⁶ Medical Surgical Nursing Department, Nursing College, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia

10.21608/niles.2024.278125.1083

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its consequences is expected to increase with ageing. Consequently, this study aimed to explore the prevalence of the hidden danger posed by vitamin D deficiency among the elderly, awareness and its impact on psychological well-being. A cross-sectional study design was employed in Najran City, using a convenient sample of 100 elderly. Data collection included socio-demographic information, serum 25 (OH) D analyses, knowledge questionnaires, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS 21). Results revealed that 9% of the sample had deficient vitamin D levels (<20 ng/mL), 33% were insufficient (20-29 ng/mL), and 58% were sufficient (≥30 ng/mL). Knowledge about vitamin D was satisfactory only in 23%. Negative emotional states were mild in 40%, moderate in 31%, and severe in 29% of the sample. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between knowledge/lifestyle scores and vitamin D (p<0.0001). Moreover, a highly significant association was found between vitamin D sufficiency levels and negative psychological states (p=0.0002). Conclusion: The findings of this study highlighted the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among elderly individuals where about the third had vitamin D deficiency, a significant proportion of participants exhibited unsatisfactory knowledge about vitamin D (47%). The study also revealed the significant association between varying degrees of negative emotional states among the elderly and their sufficiency levels of vitamin D. Recommendations: perform routine screening for vitamin D levels among elderly individuals.

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