Hiding from the sun - Vitamin D deficiency in refugees

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorBenson, J.
dc.contributor.authorSkull, S.
dc.date.issued2007
dc.descriptionCopyright © 2007 Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Copyright to Australian Family Physician. Reproduced with permission. Permission to reproduce must be sought from the publisher, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND It has been well established that women who wear a veil for cultural reasons and dark skinned migrants from Africa have an increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Many refugee patients also come from countries where their skin is covered or they are indoors for most of the day. OBJECTIVE This article explores the risk, diagnosis and management of vitamin D deficiency in the Australian refugee population. DISCUSSION In 2004–2005, 75% of the 7000 refugees settling in Australia were from African countries and 20% were from the Middle East. Refugees may be exposed to less sunlight in Australia than in their country of origin because of an indoor lifestyle or an increased latitude. Refugee health centres confirm that vitamin D deficiency is present in 40–80% of refugee patients. Importantly, this is often asymptomatic. General practitioners are encouraged to test for vitamin D deficiency in refugees, especially as part of the initial health assessment.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityJill Benson; Sue Skull
dc.identifier.citationAustralian Family Physician, 2007; 36(5):355-357
dc.identifier.issn0300-8495
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/43805
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherRoyal Australian College of General Practitioners
dc.source.urihttp://www.racgp.org.au/afp/200705/16451
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectVitamin D Deficiency
dc.subjectVitamin D
dc.subjectPrevalence
dc.subjectHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
dc.subjectFamily Practice
dc.subjectSunlight
dc.subjectCultural Characteristics
dc.subjectRefugees
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjectMiddle East
dc.subjectAustralia
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectMale
dc.titleHiding from the sun - Vitamin D deficiency in refugees
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
hdl_43805.pdf
Size:
201.5 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

General Practice publications