Survey of vitamin D intake in the general population in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Multicentre cross-sectional study

AimData on vitamin D intake are not available for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aim of this study was to determine the level of sun exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D in the general adult Congolese population. MethodsBetween January and March 2024, 14,750 respondents (age= 31.3{+/-}12.5 years, 53.5% male) completed a questionnaire on sun exposure and dietary vitamin D intake. The association between satisfactory vitamin D intake [&ge;] 15 {micro}g/day and hypothesised determinants was modelled in a multiple logistic regression. ResultsOf the 14,750 participants, 1,238 (8.4%) had very fair skin, 4,601 (31.2%) had less than 15 minutes exposure to the sun, 5,281 (35.8%) had only their head exposed to the sun and 2,509 (17.0%) had a vitamin D test. Fish was the main source of vitamin D intake [3.0 (1.0-7.0) {micro}g/100 gr/day]. Finally, satisfactory vitamin D intake was significantly more frequent in participants aged < 40 years (adjusted OR= 2.45; p=0.0007), in those with a low socio-economic level (adjusted OR= 1.23; p=0.01) and in one of the towns studied (adjusted OR= 1.64; p=0.0001). ConclusionA low level of sun exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D is observed in the general Congolese population. Vitamin D intake is influenced by age and socio-economic status. The introduction of a vitamin D programme integrated into funded programmes (TB, HIV) would make it possible, at a lower cost, to combat vitamin D deficiency by raising awareness, screening and treating the general Congolese population.