Vitamin D deficiency is common in many societies and causes rickets and non-skeletal disorders in children. There are no published data on vitamin D deficiency in Afghanistan. We, therefore, investigated the prevalence and associated factors of vitamin D deficiency in Afghan school children in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from September 2022 to April 2023 in 510 primary school students aged 6-15 years from six randomly selected schools. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression. Of the 510 enrolled children, 54.3% were boys and 91.8% were poor. The mean serum 25(OH)D concentration was 9.3 ng/mL. Vitamin D deficiency (
Scientific reports
11/2024
14
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Durahi, Beside Aino Mena Town, District 10, Kandahar, Afghanistan. drbilal77@yahoo.com.
Humans, Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Cross-Sectional Studies, Schools, Students, Adolescent, Child, Afghanistan, Female, Male