RESEARCH ARTICLE
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) towards Vitamin D Deficiency among Adult Population in Qassim, Saudi Arabia
Saeed Alfadly1, Mohammed Anaam1, Saud Alsahali*, 1, Mohammed Alshammari1, Mohammed Almunef1, Yasser Almogbel1, Ibrahim Alramadi1, Ali Alodilah1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2024Volume: 17
E-location ID: e18749445302986
Publisher ID: e18749445302986
DOI: 10.2174/0118749445302986240306072242
Article History:
Received Date: 08/01/2024Revision Received Date: 19/02/2024
Acceptance Date: 27/02/2024
Electronic publication date: 24/04/2024
Collection year: 2024
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background
Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a worrying problem in Saudi Arabia and worldwide. However, vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, plays a vital role in bone health by enhancing calcium and phosphorus absorption and metabolism. Also, vitamin D deficiency is remarkably correlated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as senile dementia, schizophrenia, and multiple sclerosis.
Objective
The objective of our study was to evaluate the vitamin D deficiency Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) among the adult population in Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Methods
A cross-sectional design study was conducted among the general population in the Qassim area from March 2022 to July 2022.
Results
About 99.1% of people had heard about vitamin D, and the majority were aware that sunlight is the primary source of this vitamin. Despite the fact that 72.9% of them exposed themselves to sunshine, only 46.4% of participants liked going outside in the sun. Only 13.7% of the participants believed that they receive adequate sun exposure. The majority of participants (93.1%) were aware of the significance of vitamin D for bone health, and 48.4% were aware that there is a link between vitamin D insufficiency and other disorders, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Additionally, the majority of individuals (91.0%) stated sunlight to be the source of vitamin D.
Conclusion
The findings have revealed Saudis to have a basic understanding of vitamin D deficiency. However, they were not sufficiently informed on the consequences of vitamin D deficiency.
