Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Many factors influence intensity and duration of exposure to ultraviolet, including geographic location, season, dietary intake, atmospheric conditions and the daily sunlight exposure. Study was performed to determine prevelance of hypovitaminosis in housebound elderly.

Design: 41 people (22 men and 19 women) living in Konya Residantal Care (RC) were taken. Serum 25-OH vitamin D (VD) measured in winter and in summer. Results were evaluated between each other and 20 elder persons (ten women and ten men) who had the similar demographic conditions, healty and live outside the RC.

Results: RC people mean age were 74.75±3.90, in control groups (CG) were 74.75±3.90. Mean VD level in summer, in winter were 20.36±6.54–19.29±6.00 ng/ml for men, 19.58±6.93–18.29±4.69 for women: respectively in RC group. Mean VD level in summer, in winter were 24.79±6.59, 20.94±5.29 for men, 25.30±6.77–20. 73±6.50 for women in control group. There was no difference in mean values between RC people and CG, in the summer and winter period. In RC men mean VD levels, there was no difference between CG men in summer (P=0.119) and in winter (P=0.269). In RC women mean VD levels there was significant difference (P=0.008) in summer to control women, in winter there was no difference (P=0.146). physical activity (PA) evaluated in RC people as enough or not, in winter and summer there was no significant difference between on sufficient PA acording to insufficient PA (winter P=0.237 and summer P=0.173). The avarage VD intake were found much lower than the recommended in RC and control group.

Conclusion: Increasing incidence of hipovitaminose in persons who live in RC and CG in winter period was due to Inadequate intake insufficiant sunlight exposure and physical inactivity. For this especially in RC people PA must be increased besides intake of vitamin D and calcium suplement to prevent the risk of falling and fracture.