Research Article
Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study
Table 1
Sociodemographic and baseline characteristics of study participants.
| | Variables | Total (n = 500) | Divisions | value | | NS (n = 221) | MB (n = 139) | SS (n = 140) |
| | Age (years) (mean ± SD) | 27.97 ± 8.87 | 27.19 ± 8.05 | 26.31 ± 7.02 | 30.83 ± 9.38 | <0.001 |
| | Age group (years) | | | | | | | <20 | 84 (16.8%) | 44 (52.4%) | 23 (27.4%) | 17 (20.2%) | 0.157 | | 20–29 | 239 (47.8%) | 101 (42.3%) | 85 (35.5%) | 53 (22.2%) | <0.001 | | 30–39 | 121 (24.2%) | 58 (47.9%) | 17 (14.0%) | 46 (38.1%) | <0.001 | | ≥40 | 56 (11.2%) | 18 (32.1%) | 14 (25.0%) | 24 (42.9%) | 0.027 |
| | Gender | | | | | | | Male | 362 (72.4%) | 154 (42.5%) | 107 (29.6%) | 101 (27.9%) | 0.320 | | Female | 138 (27.6%) | 67 (61.0%) | 32 (38.4%) | 39 (38.6%) | 0.320 |
| | Marital status | | | | | | | Single | 309 (61.8%) | 138 (44.7%) | 101 (32.7%) | 70 (22.6%) | <0.001 | | Married | 180 (36.0%) | 80 (44.4%) | 36 (20.0%) | 64 (35.6%) | 0.003 | | Divorced | 11 (2.2%) | 3 (27.3%) | 2 (18.2%) | 6 (54.5%) | 0.14 |
| | Religious status | | | | | | | Christians | 376 (75.2%) | 167 (44.4%) | 105 (27.9%) | 104 (27.7%) | 0.957 | | Muslims | 97 (19.4%) | 41 (42.3%) | 26 (26.8%) | 30 (30.9%) | 0.774 | | Traditionalists | 27 (5.4%) | 13 (48.1%) | 8 (29.6%) | 6 (22.3%) | 0.475 |
| | Educational background | | | | | | | None | 69 (13.8%) | 29 (42.0%) | 30 (43.5%) | 10 (14.5%) | 0.002 | | Basic | 76 (15.2%) | 37 (48.7%) | 12 (15.8%) | 27 (35.3%) | 0.032 | | Secondary | 207 (41.4%) | 95 (45.9%) | 38 (18.4%) | 74 (35.7%) | <0.001 | | Tertiary | 148 (29.6) | 60 (40.5%) | 59 (39.9%) | 29 (19.6%) | <0.001 |
| | Occupational status | | | | | | | Unemployed | 6 (1.2%) | 2 (33.3%) | | 4 (66.7%) | 0.078 | | Informal | 217 (43.4%) | 93 (42.9%) | 58 (26.7%) | 66 (30.4%) | 0.573 | | Formal | 64 (12.8%) | 28 (43.8%) | 9 (14.1%) | 27 (42.2%) | 0.001 | | Student | 213 (42.6%) | 98 (46.0%) | 72 (33.8%) | 43 (20.2%) | 0.342 | | SBP (mmHg) | 114.64 ± 6.52 | 114.34 ± 5.97 | 115.54 ± 7.34 | 114.21 ± 6.47 | 0.158 | | DBP (mmHg) | 75.38 ± 5.38 | 75.57 ± 5.16 | 75.61 ± 5.66 | 74.86 ± 5.43 | 0.398 | | IPTH (pg/ml) | 7.12 (6.24–8.67) | 7.02 (5.95–8.77) | 7.30 (6.33–8.67) | 7.35 (6.38–8.62) | 0.409 | | VDBP (ng/ml) | 26.38 (8.46–53.23) | 27.90 (8.38–61.67) | 21.57 (7.97–46.22) | 28.37 (9.90–28.77) | 0.035 | | Corrected calcium (mmol/l) | 2.20 ± 0.19 | 2.20 ± 0.19 | 2.17 ± 0.17 | 2.21 ± 0.20 | 0.166 | | Phosphorus (mmol/l) | 1.30 ± 0.17 | 1.31 ± 0.18 | 1.28 ± 0.13 | 1.32 ± 0.18 | 0.143 | | Albumin (g/dl) | 43.09 ± 2.90 | 43.27 ± 3.22 | 42.86 ± 2.62 | 43.04 ± 2.81 | 0.410 | | Creatinine (mmol/l) | 99.52 ± 28.08 | 101.34 ± 29.18 | 94.92 ± 21.60 | 101.22 ± 31.45 | 0.075 |
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value <0.05 = statistically significant, SD = standard deviation, NS = Northern Sector, MB = Middle Belt, SS = Southern Sector, SBP = systolic blood pressure, DBP = diastolic blood pressure, IPTH = intact parathyroid hormone, and VDBP = vitamin D binding protein. |
