Vitamin D status of lactating women in two rural communities in southern Ethiopia

Prior assumptions that vitamin D status is adequate in tropical areas are being questioned. This cross‐sectional study assessed vitamin D status by measurement of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in a convenience sample of 108 lactating Ethiopian women in January, 2006, using an enzymeimmunoassay (IDS, Inc.). Four percent of the women were deficient (<25 nmol/L). Thirty‐five percent of the women had 25(OH)D in the ≥25 to <50 nmol/L range which some define as vitamin D insufficiency and 46% of women had serum 25(OH)D between 50 to <80 nmol/L. Only 15% had ≥ 80 nmol/L, which has been suggested as an optimal level for calcium absorption. Foods were not fortified with vitamin D and consumption of liver, fish, and eggs was infrequent. Fifty‐one percent of the women were Muslim and their serum 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly lower than the mean of all women of other religions (55 ± 3 vs 64 ± 4 nmol/L, p<0.05). Two mothers in the study had children with rickets; clinical signs included rachitic rosary, widened wrist, and double maleoli. Thirty‐one percent of the mothers had lost a child during pregnancy. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were negatively associated with child deaths during pregnancy (r = −0.25, p<0.01). Even near the equator (latitude 7°N), serum 25(OH)D concentrations in dark‐skinned lactating women were not optimal. (Supported by The Micronutrient Initiative of Canada, Debub University, and Oklahoma State University).