-Jasmeet Singh
Chandigarh / January 27, 2023 :According to recent tests conducted by Tata 1mg Labs across 27 Indian cities, nearly 76% of the Indian population suffers from vitamin D deficiency.
Overall, 79% of men had lower-than-desired levels of vitamin D in their bodies, compared to 75% of women.
Delhi-NCR (72%) had the lowest incidence of vitamin D deficiency among all the cities studied, followed by Vadodara (89%) and Surat (88%).
An analysis of Tata 1mg data found that younger people were much more likely to be affected by Vitamin D deficiency than the national average. Its prevalence was highest in individuals under 25 years old (84%), followed by those 25 to 40 years old (81%).
All-India data on Vitamin D levels based on analysis of 2.2 lakh samples between March-August 2022:
| Gender | Percentage |
| Male | 79% |
| Female | 75% |
| Age Group | Percentage |
| Below 25 years | 84% |
| 25-40 | 81% |
City-wise incidence of vitamin-D deficiency across 27 cities in India
|
City |
vitamin-D Deficiency |
|
Vadodara |
89% |
|
Surat |
88% |
|
Ahmedabad |
85% |
|
Nagpur |
84% |
|
83% |
|
|
Nashik |
82% |
|
Patna |
82% |
|
Visakhapatnam |
82% |
|
Ranchi |
82% |
|
Jaipur |
81% |
|
Chennai |
81% |
|
Bhopal |
81% |
|
Indore |
80% |
|
Pune |
79% |
|
Kolkata |
79% |
|
Varanasi |
79% |
|
Mumbai |
78% |
|
Allahabad |
78% |
|
Lucknow |
78% |
|
Kanpur |
77% |
|
Bangalore |
77% |
|
Agra |
76% |
|
Hyderabad |
76% |
|
Chandigarh |
76% |
|
Dehradun |
75% |
|
Meerut |
74% |
|
Delhi NCR |
72% |
A deficiency of Vitamin D has been linked to health disorders such as prostate cancer, depression, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and rickets.
“Changing food habits and an indoor lifestyle with inadequate sunlight exposure have contributed to a drastic increase in vitamin D deficiency,” said Dr Rajeev Sharma, Tata 1mg VP, Medical Affairs. Young adults have a much higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency due to lower consumption of foods containing vitamin D, like fortified cereals and oily fish.
“Vitamin D levels should be regularly tested in patients with obesity, mal-absorption syndrome, softening of the bones (osteomalacia), or who are receiving treatment for tuberculosis,” said Dr Prashant Nag, Clinical Head of Tata 1mg Labs. In addition to regular full-body checkups, Vitamin D levels can also be checked once a year or every six months.
