Is vitamin D deficiency associated with using veil in female garment workers?

Objective To find out the determinant factors which are associated with the serum vitamin D status in the female garment workers. Methods This study was a cross sectional design with a total of 154 childbearing female garment workers aging from 18 to 40 who worked at garment factory in Sukabumi, Indonesia and fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Serum 25(OH)D was determined using a chemiluminescence immunoassay method. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing serum vitamin D status. Results The results of this study showed that on average serum 25(OH)D of the workers was 31.6 nmol/L and only 5.2% of them had a sufficient status of vitamin D. There were no different proportion among body mass index, supplement consumption, energy, protein, calcium, and vitamin D adequacy level with the serum vitamin D status of the workers. The workers who wore veils had a higher proportion to have a deficient serum vitamin D compared to workers who did not use veils (P = 0.000). The women who wore veils had a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency than the women who did not wear any veil. Conclusions A need of vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight. Therefore it is suggested that the garment provide an opportunity for the garment workers to do exercise in the morning so that the workers can get sunlight prior to working.