Abstract

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread epidemiological problem yet its awareness and implications are not largely known in most population groups. There is a widespread prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in all age groups including toddlers, school going children, adult men and women, elderly people, and pregnant women. The current study aims at detecting the level of awareness and behavior of the general population in Abha city of South-western Saudi Arabia regarding vitamin D deficiency
Methodology: This study was done using a descriptive cross-sectional survey. A total sample of 939 respondents for the online questionnaire was included.
Results: The study included 939 participants aged between 18 to 65 years with a mean age of 33.4 ± 10.8 years. About 70% of the participants were males. The overall awareness level regarding vitamin D’s importance, source, and sequelae of vitamin D deficiency were satisfactory among 74.4% of the sampled populations.
Conclusion: Males at different ages were the most prominent responders revealing that general populations had a high level of awareness regarding vitamin D deficiency and its consequences especially among females at old age, but their awareness regarding food sources of vitamin D was inadequate. Friends and social media were the most dominant sources of knowledge regarding vitamin D deficiency and its importance

Key words: Vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D source, awareness of vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D knowledge, vitamin D intake behaviour, practice for vitamin D deficiency.