Awareness Regarding Vitamin D Amongst The Medical And Non-medical Students Of Karachi

Abstract

Objective: To assess the awareness regarding Vitamin D amongst medical and non-medical students. Study Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period December 2016-June 2017 on a sample size of 388 subjects. Methodology: Undergraduate medical and dental students that are in their 3rd or 4th year, house officers, post graduate trainees and graduate medical students were included in the study. Undergraduate and graduate students from non-medical institutes were also included. The participants were assessed on the basis of a questionnaire which contained 15 closed ended questions. Results: The age of participants in this research varied from 21 to 35 years with the mean age of 24. Male subjects were 25 % but the females were predominant in this study, calculating 75%. Medical subjects were 70.4% (n= 273) and Nonmedical subjects were 29.6% (n= 115). Undergraduates were 79.4% (n=308) and Graduates were 20.6% (n=80). An overall of 75% of the medical subjects have satisfactory knowledge as compared to 25% of the non-medical subjects. Conclusion: There is a lack of awareness regarding vitamin D among non-medical students. Awareness of vitamin among medical students was also not up to the mark