What causes vitamin D deficiency in females?

Vitamin D deficiency is most commonly caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight. Some disorders can also cause the deficiency. The most common cause is lack of exposure to sunlight, usually when the diet is deficient in vitamin D, but certain disorders can also cause the deficiency.

What medical conditions cause low vitamin D?

Why would vitamin D be low?

Your exposure to sunlight is limited.

Because the body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight, you may be at risk of deficiency if you are homebound, live in northern latitudes, wear long robes or head coverings for religious reasons, or have an occupation that prevents sun exposure.

How can I raise my vitamin D levels quickly?

Is vitamin D deficiency serious?

If left untreated over time, vitamin D deficiency can lead to serious bone disorders. For example, severe and long-term vitamin D deficiency may result in rickets or osteomalacia.

Vitamin D Deficiency: About the Causes, Symptoms

Does low vitamin D cause weight gain?

A vitamin D deficiency is unlikely to cause weight gain. However, it may cause other health problems or unpleasant symptoms, which are worth avoiding. You can maintain adequate vitamin D levels through a combination of limited sun exposure, a vitamin-D-rich diet, and taking vitamin D supplements.

Does vitamin D affect sleep?

Research links vitamin D levels to sleep quality. In fact, several studies associate low levels of vitamin D in your blood to a higher risk of sleep disturbances, poorer sleep quality and reduced sleep duration ( 9 , 10 , 11 ).

How long does it take to correct a vitamin D deficiency?

“If you put people on 2,000-4,000 [milligrams] of vitamin D based on what their deficient value was, you can usually get them corrected in four to six weeks, which is when you are really going to need the vitamin D.

Who is most at risk for vitamin D deficiency?

What are the long term effects of low vitamin D?

Patients with a prolonged and severe vitamin D deficiency can experience symptoms associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism including bone pain, arthralgias, myalgias, fatigue, muscle twitching (fasciculations), and weakness. Fragility fractures may result from chronic vitamin D deficiency leading to osteoporosis.

Can lack of vitamin D cause anxiety?

Research indicates that there is a strong link between vitamin D deficiency and anxiety as well as depression. Individuals struggling with a mental illness may turn to problematic behavior to mask the pain.

Does low vitamin D affect thyroid?

Low levels of vitamin D have also been associated with autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and Graves' disease (GD). Impaired vitamin D signaling has been reported to encourage thyroid tumorigenesis [4,5,6].

Can low thyroid cause low vitamin D?

Some, but not all, observational studies have found low blood levels of vitamin D in patients with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) as well as hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) due to Gravesʼ disease.

What is a normal vitamin D level for a woman?

For most adults, a normal level of vitamin D in the blood is 20 nanograms per milliliter or above.

Does vitamin D affect hair?

One role vitamin D plays is stimulating new and old hair follicles. When there isn't enough vitamin D in your system, new hair growth can be stunted. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to alopecia, the autoimmune condition that causes bald patches on the scalp and other areas of the body.

Does vitamin D help with anxiety?

Vitamin D (VD) supplementation could improve the anxiety symptoms but not depressive symptoms in depressive patients with low VD level after the 6‐month intervention.

Does vitamin D help with weight loss?

"The present data indicate that in obese and overweight people with vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D supplementation aids weight loss and enhances the beneficial effects of a reduced-calorie diet," Vigna's team wrote. The researchers suggest that all overweight and obese people should have their vitamin D levels tested.

Does vitamin D reduce belly fat?

In addition to reducing belly fat, taking vitamin D for weight loss has important implications in musculoskeletal health. A 2017 study found that combining vitamin D with aerobic exercise and resistance training can result in more calorie loss than exercise alone.

Does vitamin D deficiency make you sweat?

Head Sweating

The reason is simple, sweaty head and excessive sweating is one of the first and earliest symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.

What does low vitamin D mean in a blood test?

Having low levels of vitamin D is a common problem that can lead to bone disorders and other medical problems. Vitamin D testing can let you know if you need to increase your vitamin D levels. You get vitamin D in three ways: Your body makes vitamin D when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight.

Are eggs high in vitamin D?

One serve of eggs contains 8.2mcg of vitamin D which is 82% of the recommended dietary vitamin D intake of 10mcg per day. Eggs are one of the highest food sources of vitamin D.

How can I check my vitamin D levels at home?

At-home tests typically have you prick and squeeze a finger to collect a smaller blood sample. It's easier to measure 25-OH D because it lasts longer in the bloodstream, around 14 days. It's also easier to detect changes in 25-OH D levels that are associated with vitamin D deficiency.

What is the relation between vitamin D and thyroid gland?

Importantly, both vitamin D and thyroid hormone bind to similar receptors called steroid hormone receptors. A different gene in the Vitamin D receptor was shown to predispose people to autoimmune thyroid disease including Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.