Hyderabad: The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) in collaboration with PULSE Pharmaceuticals has taken a major initiative to bridge the Vitamin D deficiency in Indian women.
FOGSI President Shantakumari and Pulse Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Rambabu, speaking at a joint press conference here on Thursday, announced a joint campaign to create awareness on Vitamin D sufficiency levels across various indications in Women’s health, through generation of Scientific practice points around the therapy.
Increasingly, women’s health is emerging as a grave concern in India. Women’s well-being and immunity levels are vital for their overall robust health. However, one of the major indicators of deterioration in women’s health is Vitamin D deficiency, they said.
This deficiency is usually non-symptomatic, though found to be extremely common and incidentally, some studies in the past decade reported a prevalence of 50-94 per cent across age groups and such prevalence was seen throughout the country, they informed.
The deficiency is often discovered, while undergoing treatment for other ailments and in certain instances, too late for corrective treatment.
Highest priority needs to be accorded to create awareness on this silent ailment. Limiting to patients alone will not help, even the medical fraternity has to be roped in to combat the Vitamin D deficiency issue, they said.
The apt way to build awareness and set a momentum in the doctors’ community is by Scientific discussions across indications through the Times of Gynaecology platform, said Shantakumari.
“Pain killer is not the answer for pain, the root cause has to be detected and addressed, which will lead to holistic health and a healthier life. Vitamin D enhances immunity, with stronger immunity, we fare better even with diseases like Covid-19,” she said.
The three most common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are persistent fatigue, where the person gets tired very easily and also feel tired all the time; bone, joint and muscle pains, body aches, low backache and last but not the least, recurrent infections due to low immunity. In fact, Covid-19 infection is seen more often in patients with Vitamin D deficiency, said the FOGSI President.
Some of the causes that contribute to Vitamin D deficiency are increased indoor lifestyle and lesser exposure to Sun, she said, adding that unspaced and unplanned pregnancies in women with dietary deficits lead to worsening status of Vitamin D in both the mother and the child.
Rambabu said in India, Vitamin D deficiency is widespread and currently, the diagnosed numbers are only the tip of the iceberg.
Educational programmes are a must to create awareness, along with testing facilities for early detection and initiating corrective care, he said.
“The current lifestyle has contributed to this problem of Vitamin D deficiency to a great extent. The kind of supplements we have in the market are not good enough to solve this problem. Our bodies are not made to absorb vitamin D through the gut, it is supposed to be synthesised through the skin,” he added.
