VITAMIN D STATUS OF GHANAIAN 8-12 YEAR OLD CHILDREN IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN THE GREATER ACCRA REGION

ABSTRACT

Background: Adequate serum vitamin D levels in children has been proven to improve bone health, reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and many other diseases in life. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is the best biomarker in measuring vitamin D status in the body. It is able to reflect both vitamin D levels that the body receive from sunlight and dietary sources. Little is known about the vitamin D status of the population in Ghana especially among school age child.

Aim: To determine the vitamin D status of school age children between 8-12 years.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used in this study. Ninety-nine (99) participants were recruited from four (2 public and 2 private) schools in the Ledzokuku/Krowor constituency using the stratified and systematic random sampling. A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect their socio-demographic data. Participant’s dietary intakes, length of sunlight exposure and anthropometric measurement were also measured. Serum vitamin D levels were determined using an ELISA test kit. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0 was used to analyze the data obtained. Chi-square test was used to determine the association between the categorical variables while independent t-test was used to find the mean differences between the vitamin D status of the school groups and gender. Statistical significance was set as p