Introduction: The main objective was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vitamin D supplementation habits and their changes in the follow-up, 20 months after the study in Slovenian premenopausal and postmenopausal women.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and May 2021. 176 healthy women aged 44 to 65 from the Central Slovenian region were included in the final analysis. Vitamin D status was determined by measuring 25(OH)D concentration. After 20 months an online follow-up questionnaire was sent out, to which 123 participants responded with complete data.
Results: Between March and May 2021, 61% of the participants were supplementing vitamin D. 55% of the supplementers and 88% of the non-supplementers had insufficient levels (total 25(OH)D <75 nmol/L). After 20 months in the follow-up, it was found that 62% of participants were taking vitamin D supplements, but only 70% of those who had initially reported taking supplements were still doing so. In the follow-up 61% of participants stated that they started or increased vitamin D intake due to COVID-19.
Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation increased 7-fold compared to pre-pandemic levels and remained at a high level after 20 months. However, a significant number of participants discontinued supplementation, and only one-fifth were taking vitamin D throughout the entire year. Supplementation is effective for vitamin D deficiency prevention only at the individual level, however due to low compliance it should not be the only strategy for preventing vitamin D deficiency in the population.
Uvod: Cilj je bil oceniti vpliv pandemije covida-19 na navade dodajanja vitamina D med pandemijo in po 20 mesecih pri slovenskih premenopavznih in pomenopavznih ženskah.
Metode: Med marcem in majem 2021 smo izvedli presečno epidemiološko študijo, ki je zajela 319 žensk, starih med 44 in 65 let. V končno analizo smo ob upoštevanju izključitvenih dejavnikov vključili 176 preiskovank. Status vitamina D smo določili z meritvijo koncentracije 25(OH) vitamina D. Po 20 mesecih je bil udeleženkam poslan spletni vprašalnik za nadaljnje spremljanje. 123 udeleženk je odgovorilo s popolnimi podatki.
Rezultati: Med marcem in majem 2021 je 61 % preiskovank dodajalo vitamin D. Nezadostnost vitamina D (skupni 25(OH)D < 75 nmol/L) je bila ugotovljena pri 55 % žensk, ki so dodajale vitamin D, in 88 % žensk, ki niso dodajale vitamina D. Po 20 mesecih jih je vitamin D dodajalo 62 %, vendar je vitamin D dodajalo le 70 % od tistih, ki so prvotno dodajale vitamin D. V spremljanju je 61 % preiskovank povedalo, da so začele ali povečale dodajanje vitamina D zaradi covida-19.
Zaključki: Dodajanje vitamina D se je v primerjavi z obdobjem pred pandemijo povečalo za 7-krat in po 20 mesecih ostalo na visoki ravni. Precejšnje število udeleženk je prenehalo z dodajanjem in le petina jih je dodajala vitamin D celo leto. Dodajanje vitamina je učinkovita strategija za preprečevanje pomanjkanja vitamina D samo na ravni posameznika, vendar ni učinkovito pri preprečevanju pomanjkanja v populaciji.
Keywords: COVID-19; Follow-up; Postmenopausal women; Premenopausal women; Supplementation; Vitamin D.
© 2023 Vid VIČIČ et al., published by Sciendo.