Tests throw light on low levels of sunshine vitamin

Dubai: Around 60 Gulf News employees were found to be deficient in vitamin D during a health campaign this week, which is a common deficiency among UAE residents.

The employees gave blood samples during the Vitamin D campaign at the news organisation’s main office from July 22 to 24. Those with the vitamin deficiency received a consultation with doctors from Unicare Medical Centre.

Dr Amal Joseph, general practitioner at Unicare Medical Centre, who was in charge of the campaign, explained the diagnosis and treatment options to the employees.

Dr Joseph said Vitamin D is the “most underestimated vitamin” as approximately 80 per cent of UAE’s population is likely to be deficient.

“This is worrying as not only is Vitamin D directly related to the healthy functioning of muscles, bones and joints, it can also affect your mental health and even be beneficial in preventing cancer,” Dr Joseph said.

Residents ideally should be tested for vitamin D deficiency every three months regardless of age, Dr Joseph said.

Each resident should have around 50-70 ng/ml (nanograms per millilitre) vitamin in his blood. In case it is lower, treatment options range from prescribing tablets and drops to injections for severe cases.

Speaking of alternatives, Dr Joseph said residents can introduce lifestyle and dietary changes to help increase vitamin D levels but doing these alone is not enough.

“Foods such as fortified milk and mushrooms can only provide 3-4 per cent of the required daily intake and spending time under the sun is not a substitute either because of the excessive UVA rays in the UAE. Exposure to sunlight before 7.30am could be of little help,” she said.

K.C. Nissar, Personnel and Administration Manager at Gulf News, was pleased with the turnout of the campaign as it would urge employees to focus more on their health and benefit from the campaign.

Healthcare Partner Axa Insurance collaborated with Unicare Medical Centre to provide tests at discounted rates for the health campaign at Gulf News.

Dr Joseph lauded the company for hosting the health campaign and urged other companies to do the same for their employees.

“The ill-effects of vitamin D deficiency such as joint pain, muscle cramps, lethargy, dizzy spells, irritability, depression etc don’t just affect the employee’s personal life but also hinder the growth of the company.”

— The author is an intern with Gulf News