Knowledge about Vitamin D among Women in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is a significant public health issue as it affects almost 90% of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population. A bigger portion of this percentage is women due to the physiological changes throughout their life cycle. This study aims to assess the knowledge about vitamin D among women in the UAE. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study. Using snowball sampling, an electronic questionnaire was sent to women aged 18 years and above. Overall, 1537 women completed the questionnaire. The participants had mean scores of 49.4 ± 10.7 and 59.6 ± 14.6 for general and nutritional knowledge, respectively. Factors associated with higher scores included older age, marriage, higher educational level, and having tested their vitamin D levels. Factors associated with lower scores included the history of a chronic illness and being employed. Findings indicate that women in this study showed a low level of vitamin D knowledge specifically regarding the non-skeletal benefits of vitamin D and factors that affect vitamin D synthesis. Therefore, health education and promotion programs must be implemented across the UAE to improve overall awareness about vitamin D.