Vitamin D deficiency and low bone status in adult female garment factory workers in Bangladesh

The manufacture of garments is the main industry in Bangladesh and employs 1·6 million female workers. Due to the indoor lifestyle and low dietary intake of calcium, we hypothesised that they are at risk of low vitamin D and bone mineral status. Two hundred female garment workers (aged 18–36 years) were randomly selected. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (S-25OHD), serum intact parathyroid hormone (S-iPTH), serum calcium (S-Ca), serum phosphate (S-P) concentration and serum alkaline phosphatase activity (S-ALP) were measured from fasting samples. Bone indexes of hip and spine were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The mean S-25OHD (36·7 nmol/l) was low compared to that recommended for vitamin D sufficiency. About 16 % of the subjects were found to be vitamin D-deficient (S-25OHD…