Cigarette Smoking and Serum Level of Vitamin D among Older Adults

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D has different biological actions in the body. Vitamin D has pleiotropic effects in multiple organ systems.Vitamin D deficiency has been found to have an inverse relationship with tobacco smoking. Objective: The objective of this study was toidentify the prevalence of Vitamin D level and its correlates with tobacco smoking among old adults in Al‑Hilla city, Babylon Province.Methods: A cross‑sectional study was conducted on a sample of old adults, both males and females, who were selected from dwellers incommunity of Al‑Hilla city, Babylon Province, Iraq, during the period from January to August 2019. A pretested questionnaire was used for datacollection adopted from previous standard national surveys and studies, and the questionnaire included information about sociodemographiccharacteristics and cigarette smoking habit. Results: The study included 300 participants, and most of them had either insufficiency ordeficiency of Vitamin D level (84%). Tobacco cigarette smoking elders had a significantly low serum Vitamin D level (both deficiency andinsufficiency) as compared to the nonsmoker group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: There was a significant inverse relationship between Vitamin Dlevel and tobacco cigarette smoking.