The Impact of Socioeconomic Characteristics and Lifestyles on Vitamin D Deficit in Mentally Ill Patients

Mental illnesses put patients at high risk for vitamin D deficit. The aim of the research is to examine the impacts of socioeconomic characteristics and lifestyles on vitamin D deficiency in mentally diseased patients. In this crosssectional study we used blood samples from patients who were treated for mental disorders at Specialist-consultative unit of the Health Center and Clinical Center Kragujevac from May-June 2014. The study used a questionnaire for the assessment of vitamin D status. The study included 220 subjects with different types of mental disorders. Normal values of vitamin D were detected in 16% of patients whereas 64% of patients had vitamin D deficiency. The patients with vitamin D deficit were in average 3 years older than that but the difference is not statistically significant (p>0.05). The patients with vitamin D deficiency were primarily female (p=0.003), people with high-school education from urban environment who lived in bad life conditions (p>0.05). Between patients with and without vitamin D deficiency there is no difference in cigarette consumption, in the number of cigarettes per day, in alcohol usage, in coffee consumption and in nutrition. However, the patients without vitamin D deficiency spent more time outside; during the past year were more exposed to sun and during the past seven days spent more than 30 minutes a day exposed to sunlight (p<0.01). These facts indicate that there is a current need for further research in this area.