Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Vitamin D, also known as “the sunshine vitamin”, has an important role in maintaining your bones strong. It is also essential for calcium absorption in the body.
Your body uses the sunlight to make vitamin D. You can also receive it from your diet- it is found mainly in fish, fish oil and diary.
A vitamin D deficiency, meaning you don’t have enough of it, can develop due to a lack of vitamin in your diet, or due to limited sunlight exposure.
It is more frequent in people with darker skin and people who are strictly vegan.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Hypovitaminosis D

Signs & symptoms

As vitamin D levels decreases, your bone and muscle will become weaker.
Your bones might be more easily broken, and the muscle weakness will cause you to fall more frequently.

Diagnosis

Blood test- to measure vitamin D levels and calcium that might be affected by the vitamin deficiency.

Treatment

You will need to get your vitamin D levels back up. You can do eat by eating more vitamin D rich food- mainly fish and dairy, and by taking supplements.
Experts recommend that most adults take vitamin D supplements- ask your doctor how much you should take.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

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Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital