Vitamin D Deficiency in the Palestinian Population

Abstract

Objectives: Vitamin D plays an essential role in human health as it influences immune function, cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Vitamin D Deficiency (VDD) is a global pandemic with higher prevalence rates among Palestinians. Programs for supplying Vitamin D (VD) were carried out by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF but the issue did not resolve. In this study, we aim to (a) investigate the genetic variants of VD genes among the Palestinian population; and (b) investigate the efficacy of calcitriol vs D3 supplementation. Methods: For genetic assessment, alleles on SNPs rs10741657 (CYP121) and rs7041 (GC) were investigated in 69 Palestinians. For calcitriol efficacy, 106 individuals joined in phase 1 for 1 month, and 92 individuals joined in phase 2 for 3 months. Results: 94.2% of the 69 individuals assayed had reduced CYP2R1 and/or GC enzyme activity with a higher risk for developing VDD. Calcitriol efficacy in elevating VD levels is significantly higher than D3. Keywords: Calcitriol, CYP2R1, D3 Supplementation.