Journal of Research in Medical Sciences1735-199514320090513Vitamin D status in healthy postmenopausal Iranian women171177ENMitraNiafar1Endocrinology and Metabolism section, Department of Medicine, Imam Reza Hospital,. niafarm@tbzmed.ac.irAmirBahramiAkbarAliasgharzadehNaserAghamohammadzadehFarzadNajafipourMajidMobasseri200812222009040320090228BACKGROUND: There are few epidemiologic studies on vitamin D status of postmenopausal women in the Middle East countries. This study aimed to investigate the 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in&nbsp; ostmenopausal women living in the north-west of Iran.METHODS: Using the records of the local household registry, 300 cases were enrolled by simple random sampling. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were determined by fully automated chemiluminescent&nbsp; mmunoassay. In addition, the study included survey questions regarding age, body weight and height, use of supplements and skin protection agents and clinical and reproductive histories.RESULT: Our cases had the mean age of 63.41 &plusmn; 4.64 years with menopause duration of 16.79 &plusmn; 6.15 years. Median and interquartile 25-75 range of vitamin D were 14.20 ng/ml and 7-37.2 ng/ml&nbsp; espectively. We found hypovitaminosis D [25(OH) D < 10 ng/ml] in 38.3% of our cases. Serum 25(OH) D concentrations were not&nbsp; ignificantly correlated with age or BMI.CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that 25(OH) D levels in postmenopausal women of north-west Iran are low. Studies to elucidate and assess the dietary intake of vitamin D in elderly women of this region can be of further benefit. KEYWORDS: Vitamin D Deficiency, Dietary Supplement, Postmenopausal Period, Middle East, Iran.