Presented at International Symposium on Vitamin D Deficiency - Abu Dhabi March 2012

Dr. Afrozul Haq.

Qualifications: Ph.D.
Position: Senior Clinical Scientist Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute Shaikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Dr. Afrozul Haq is a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University, India and trained as a postdoctoral fellow at National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Paris, France. Dr. Haq started his professional career from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in 1984. He worked as a Scientist & Head of Protein Chemistry Laboratory at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1988 till 2000. Dr. Haq was invited as a visiting Professor to Pasteur Institute, Paris in 1993 and Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 1991. He has more than 25 years research experience as a basic & clinical scientist , published 60 research articles in peer reviewed journals, 2 book chapters, and 65 abstracts presented in the International & regional scientific meetings. Dr. Haq is working on several research projects on vitamin D in collaboration with clinicians and researchers at SKMC, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi and SUNARC Research Center, San Francisco, USA. Dr. Haq is the Editor of the International Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences, Prime Research on Medicine, American Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Asian Journal of Clinical Nutrition, International Journal of Biological Chemistry, Trends in Medical Research, International Journal of Cancer Research, member Advisory Board of International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases and reviewer for Oral Oncology & Clinica Chimica Acta.

Global Vitamin D Deficiency and its Role in Health and Disease

There is an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency sweeping across our modern world, and it's an epidemic of such magnitude and seriousness that is not only alarmingly widespread but a root cause of many serious diseases such as rickets, MS, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, tuberculosis and heart disease. Public interest in vitamin D is rising because there is intense and growing activity in the research community on the functions and benefits of vitamin D. People living near the equator who are exposed to sunlight without sun protection have robust levels of 25- hydroxyvitamin D above 75 nmol/L .

However, even in the sunniest areas, vitamin D deficiency is common when most of the skin is shielded from the sun. Studies in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Turkey, India, and Lebanon, 30 to 50% of children and adults had 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels under 50 nmol/L. Vitamin D ability to bind to vitamin D binding protein, enables it to reach other districts(cells and tissues of the body) that will be its target. After binding of active form of vitamin D i.e. 1,25(OH)2D to its receptor(VDR)these effects create an environment suitable for gene transcription. Vitamin D is truly remarkable in that it plays a key role in a wide range of physiologic functions.

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See also VitaminDWiki

• International Symposium on Vitamin D Deficiency - Abu Dhabi March 2012
• Sun is too hot in Dubai Overview of Vitamin D and Middle East]
• All items in category Middle East 24 items as of April 2012
• 23 ng of vitamin D in sunny Israel – Dec 2010
• High Prevalence of Vitamin D Insufficiency in Athletes and Dancers in Israel
• Ultra-orthodox Jews also suffer from 10 ng vitamin D levels – Nov 2010 clothing restricts access to the sun
• Arab pre-term infants often have less than 10 ng of vitamin D - 2010 also a very sunny climate
• Doubling of people less than 30 ng of vitamin D - 75% of whites and 90% of blacks – Feb 2010
• Even in Sunny Areas, Vitamin D Intake Often Too Low - May 2010
• Less than 4 ng is more common in Saudis than diabetic Saudis – July 2010
• Parkinson disease increased in Israel by 50 % in 7 years – June 2011
• Red Alert – one in three pre-teens in Tehran had less than 5 ng of vitamin D – Feb 2011
• Iranian vitamin D levels 13 ng summer, 12 ng winter – June 2011
• Jordanian women vitamin D – 16 ng if Western Dress – 12 ng otherwise – Aug 2011
• Vitamin D in blood is higher in winter than summer – in Middle-East Sept 2011
• Military in hot climates and vitamin D deficiency - 2010
• Osteoporosis increasing and vitamin D decreasing in Middle East - Oct 2011
• Excessive clothes and being indoors results in very low vitamin D levels – Nov 2011
• Avoid the hot sun and thus vitamin D in the Middle East – Oct 2011
• 70 % of Saudi women <10 ng, but only 40 % of men – March 2012
• Many reasons why vitamin D deficiency has become epidemic