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Comparative Study
. 2017 Jul;20(10):1729-1737.
doi: 10.1017/S1368980016000598. Epub 2016 Mar 31.

Vitamin D status among indigenous Mayan (Kekchi) and Afro-Caribe (Garifuna) adolescents from Guatemala: a comparative description between two ethnic groups residing on the Rio Dulce at the Caribbean coast in Izabal Province, Guatemala

Ali Naqvi  1 , Noel W Solomons  2 , Raquel Campos  2 , María José Soto-Méndez  2 , Emily Caplan  2 , Laura Armas  3 , Odilia I Bermudez  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Vitamin D status among indigenous Mayan (Kekchi) and Afro-Caribe (Garifuna) adolescents from Guatemala: a comparative description between two ethnic groups residing on the Rio Dulce at the Caribbean coast in Izabal Province, Guatemala

Ali Naqvi et al. Public Health Nutr. 2017 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: To assess vitamin D status and the influence of risk factors such as skin pigmentation and time spent outdoors on hypovitaminosis D among Guatemalan Kekchi and Garifuna adolescents.

Design: Cross-sectional study, with convenient sampling design. Blood samples, anthropometric and behavioural data were all collected during the dry season. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were measured by RIA.

Setting: Communities of Rio Dulce and Livingston, Izabal Province, Caribbean coast of Guatemala, with latitude and longitude of 15°49'N and 88°45'W for Livingston and 15°46'N and 88°49'W for Rio Dulce, respectively.

Subjects: Eighty-six adolescents, divided evenly by sex and ethnicity, with mean age of 14 years.

Results: Mean (sd) 25(OH)D value was 27·8 (7·2) ng/ml for the total group, with 25·8 (5·9) and 29·8 (7·9) ng/ml, respectively, in Kekchis and Garifunas (P=0·01). Use of vitamin D supplementation, clothing practices and sun protection were not statistically different between groups. Skin area exposed on the day of data collection ranged from 20·0 % minimum to 49·4 % maximum, with mean (sd) exposure of 32·0 (8.5) %. With univariate regression analysis, age (P=0·034), sex (P=0·044), ethnicity (P=0·010), time spent outdoors (P=0·006) and percentage skin area exposed (P=0·001) were predictive. However, multivariate analysis indicated that only sex (P=0·034) and percentage skin area exposed (P=0·044) remained as predictors of 25(OH)D.

Conclusions: Despite residing in an optimal geographic location for sunlight exposure, nearly 65 % of study adolescents were either insufficient or deficient in vitamin D. Correction and long-term prevention of this nutritional problem may be instrumental in avoiding adverse effects in adulthood attributed to low 25(OH)D during adolescence.

Keywords: Adolescents; Guatemala; Skin pigmentation; Sunlight exposure; Vitamin D.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Vitamin D status by ethnicity (formula image, indigenous Mayan (Kekchi); formula image, Afro-Caribe (Garifuna)) among adolescents (n 86), mean age 14 years, residing on the Rio Dulce at the Caribbean coast in Izabal Province, Guatemala, February 2014. Differences between the two ethnic groups were statistically significant (P=0.01)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Daily hours spent outdoors by ethnicity (formula image, indigenous Mayan (Kekchi); formula image, Afro-Caribe (Garifuna)) among adolescents (n 86), mean age 14 years, residing on the Rio Dulce at the Caribbean coast in Izabal Province, Guatemala, February 2014
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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