Association between vitamin d deficiency and high or low energy fractures among patients above 45 years old in Riyadh

An essential element in the equilibrium of calcium in the body is Vitamin D. It prompts adding calcium-into the circulation. As a result, it could have a significant role in preventing the occurrence of high and low energy fractures. The point of this study was to find an association of Vitamin D deficiency with low or high energy fractures among patients older than 45 years old in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that was conducted from January 2015 to December 2017 at the Orthopedic department in KAMC-Riyadh. A total of 230 Saudi fracture patients older than 45 years old with measured Vitamin D levels were reviewed. The variables included age, gender, 25-hydroxyvitamin D level, and type of fracture; high vs. low-energy fracture. The deficiency was considered as serum concentrations of 25(OH)D<50 nmol/L.

There was a high prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency 25(OH)D<50 nmol/L in (62%) among the study sample. This study found no association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency with fracture type (p=0.75) with high energy fractures (63%, 66/105) vs. low energy fractures (61%, 76/125), respectively.

In spite of the high prevalence of deficiency within all fracture patients, these results are comparable to previous studies on the normal non-fracture-population. More studies are required to look into more factors that might increase the probability of fractures.