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- Title
Vitamin D status among indigenous Mayan (Kekchi) and Afro-Caribe (Garifuna) adolescents from Guatemala: a comparative description between two ethnic groups residing on the Rio Dulce at the Caribbean coast in Izabal Province, Guatemala.
- Authors
Naqvi, Ali; Solomons, Noel W.; Campos, Raquel; Soto-Méndez, María José; Caplan, Emily; Armas, Laura; Bermudez, Odilia I.
- Abstract
<bold>Objective: </bold>To assess vitamin D status and the influence of risk factors such as skin pigmentation and time spent outdoors on hypovitaminosis D among Guatemalan Kekchi and Garifuna adolescents.<bold>Design: </bold>Cross-sectional study, with convenient sampling design. Blood samples, anthropometric and behavioural data were all collected during the dry season. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were measured by RIA.<bold>Setting: </bold>Communities of Rio Dulce and Livingston, Izabal Province, Caribbean coast of Guatemala, with latitude and longitude of 15°49'N and 88°45'W for Livingston and 15°46'N and 88°49'W for Rio Dulce, respectively.<bold>Subjects: </bold>Eighty-six adolescents, divided evenly by sex and ethnicity, with mean age of 14 years.<bold>Results: </bold>Mean (sd) 25(OH)D value was 27·8 (7·2) ng/ml for the total group, with 25·8 (5·9) and 29·8 (7·9) ng/ml, respectively, in Kekchis and Garifunas (P=0·01). Use of vitamin D supplementation, clothing practices and sun protection were not statistically different between groups. Skin area exposed on the day of data collection ranged from 20·0 % minimum to 49·4 % maximum, with mean (sd) exposure of 32·0 (8.5) %. With univariate regression analysis, age (P=0·034), sex (P=0·044), ethnicity (P=0·010), time spent outdoors (P=0·006) and percentage skin area exposed (P=0·001) were predictive. However, multivariate analysis indicated that only sex (P=0·034) and percentage skin area exposed (P=0·044) remained as predictors of 25(OH)D.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Despite residing in an optimal geographic location for sunlight exposure, nearly 65 % of study adolescents were either insufficient or deficient in vitamin D. Correction and long-term prevention of this nutritional problem may be instrumental in avoiding adverse effects in adulthood attributed to low 25(OH)D during adolescence.
- Subjects
GUATEMALA; RIO Dulce (Guatemala); PHYSIOLOGICAL effects of vitamin D; HUMAN skin color; COMPARATIVE studies; DISEASES
- Publication
Public Health Nutrition, 2017, Vol 20, Issue 10, p1729
- ISSN
1368-9800
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1017/S1368980016000598