Rabail Akbar Qazi, Lal Rehman, Farrukh Javeed, Sana Akbar Qazi, Tanweer Ahmed, Asad Abbas.
The Prevalence of Low Vitamin D3 Levels in patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation and its Relationship with Different patient Parameters.
Pak J Neuro Surg Jan ;26(2):229-35.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of low vitamin D3 levels in patients having proven lumbar disc herniation and its relationship with different patient parameters. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study carried out on 100 patients at the Neurosurgery department, Jinnah postgraduate medical center from Feb 2018 to April 2019. Serum Vitamin D levels and other characteristics were assessed in patients with prolapsed lumbar intervertebral discs. Low levels of Vitamin D were defined as insufficiency (10 ng/ml - 30 ng/ml) and deficiency (< 10 ng/ml). Results: Out of 100 patients in the study, only 21% had optimal serum vitamin D3 levels, and 79% had hypovitaminosis (57% insufficient and 22% deficiency). Low vitamin D levels were prevalent in all age groups, with deficiency more prevalent in the older age group (p-value = 0.004). The BMI (body mass index) of the patients showed a linear correlation with vitamin D levels. Conclusion: Decreased vitamin D levels are prevalent in patients having herniated lumbar discs. The study showed that older-aged patients and high BMI exhibited severe vitamin D deficiency. As a result, recommendations are that preventive initiative for this specific hypovitaminosis target a broader population to intercept the occurrence of low vitamin D levels and the associated repercussions.

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