Public awareness and attitude of the population of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah regarding the effects of sunlight and food on vitamin D homeostasis: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: This is a cross-sectional study aiming at assessing the public awareness regarding the effects of food and sunlight on vitamin D homeostasis in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: An electronic validated questionnaire from previously published research was distributed through an online link to the targeted population. The study recruited 790 participants. The questionnaire was directed to Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah population including all people who are above 15 years of age. We excluded any response from outside Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah and from children less than 15 years old. All data analyses were carried out using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: We found that 91% of the participants (n=719) had sufficient knowledge about vitamin D. The majority of participants (87.5%, n=620) correctly identified 7-9 AM as the best time for sun exposure. Participants working in health fields had more knowledge (p<0.001) regarding vitamin D compared to other specialties. High atmospheric temperature causes low participant' exposure to sunlight followed by absence of appropriate places and lack of suitable time. We found that 47.6% (n=367) of participants are taking vitamin D supplements with females as a majority (62.8%) (n=267) vs (29.9%) (n=109) for males. Females' clothes cause less exposure to sunlight 38.4% (n=150). Participants in the healthcare fields (48.9%, n=170) are staying more in the sunlight for 15 minutes duration. (p=0.016). Conclusion: It is recommended to increase the number of outdoor walking sites. Awareness level and health education regarding vitamin D need to be improved in the population of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah.