Volume 27, Issue 131, January 2023

Assessment of knowledge and awareness of vitamin D deficiency among medical students in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Khalid A Bin AbdulRahman¹, Khalid Ahmed Aljasser², Aishah Ahmed Al-Kabi³, Zainab Tariq Alramadhan⁴, Jehad T Alhussaini⁵, Asma M Almutairi⁶, Anmar Yasser Alshibely⁷, Amal Mohammed Alharthi⁸, Maryam Fahad Oraif⁹, Rakan Mohammad Alotaibi^10♦

¹Professor of Family Medicine & Medical Education, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
²Department of Medicine, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
³Internal Medicine Resident, King Fahad Medical City
⁴Department of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
⁵Department of Medicine, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
⁶Department of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
⁷Department of Medicine, King Saudi Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah Saudi Arabia
⁸Department of Medicine, Dar Al-Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁹Department of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
¹⁰Department of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Rakan Mohammad Alotaibi, Department of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that has several important roles in our bodies. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A crosssectional study was conducted among medical college students at Saudi Arabia in the colleges of medicine of Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University and Alfaisal University. A total of 575 medical students from different academic years participated in this study. Results: A total of 475 medical students participated in this survey. Most of them were Saudi citizens. There were no male-to-female differences. The vast majority of the study participants were in the intern year and only 1% were in the clinical year. Results showed that medical students seem to have substantial information regarding the value of vitamin D and vitamin D deficiencyrelated diseases and bone health. Furthermore, nationality was found to have a strong significant association with all domains of vitamin D benefits. Conclusion: A moderate awareness level was detected regarding the deficiency of vitamin D. Age, gender, nationality and academic grades were significant factors affecting the awareness level.

Keywords: Vitamin D deficiency, Saudi Arabia, knowledge, awareness

Medical Science, 2023, 27, e23ms2735

PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v27i131/e23ms2735

Published: 07 January 2023