Fang Gao,1,* Xialin Zhang,2,* Xiaolan Wang,2 Junyan Zhang,3 Fang Wang,1 Yan Zhou,4 Jing Wang,1 Xuewen Li,5 Ruijuan Zhang2 

1Department of Prevention Care in Healthcare, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Hematology, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Laboratory, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Cardiology, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Ruijuan Zhang; Xuewen Li, Email 13593169668@163.com; xuewenli1010@126.com

Purpose: To determine the current status of vitamin D status and the associated factors for its deficiency among Chinese hospital staff.
Methods: The physical examination data of 2509 hospital staff members was analyzed alongside that of 1507 patients who visited the hospital during the corresponding period of the examination. Serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) were measured in the participants. The hospital staff also completed surveys about general information, laboratory examination, and occupational characteristics.
Results: The median vitamin D status (serum 25(OH)D concentration) of the participants was 9.0 ng/mL, ranging from 6.5 to 44.7 ng/mL, and the prevalence of deficiency (< 12.3 ng/mL) was 81.47% (2044/2509). The multivariable logistic regression revealed that nurses (OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.09– 2.19, p = 0.015), BMI below 18 (OR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.02– 5.58, p = 0.045) associated with higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In the contrast, age above 30 (OR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.53– 0.91, p = 0.009) and a high level of uric acid (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.41– 0.78, p = 0.001) associated with lower prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was higher among the hospital staff (81.47%) compared to the patients who visited the hospital during the same time period (65.69%). A substantial disparity was observed in the propensity score matching dataset (69.14% vs 79.94%, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Hospital staff are a high-risk group for vitamin D deficiency. Paying attention to vitamin D status and supplementation of this vitamin are pertinent aspects of hospital staff health care. Outdoor activities, vitamin D supplementation, and foods rich in vitamin D should be advocated.

Keywords: vitamin D deficiency, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, hospital staff, cross-sectional