A study by Australian scientists has found that women who wear veils for religious or cultural reasons may not be getting enough vitamin D.
Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and the best and most natural source of vitamin D is sunlight.
The researchers say there are adult exposure recommendations to prevent vitamin D deficiency, but because 95% of skin cancers and 99% of melanomas in Australia are due to sun exposure, it is difficult to make similar recommendations for children, also as skin pigmentation increases, so too does the period of exposure to UVB required to synthesise adequate amounts of vitamin D.
Scientists from the Children's Hospital at Westmead, conducted a study of 149 North African refugees living in south-western Sydney as part of a health screening programme, and found only two of them had sufficient levels of vitamin D and despite a significant increase in sunshine over the study period, most participants remained vitamin D deficient at the end of summer.
The scientists say though it is easily prevented and treated, simple vitamin D deficiency-related rickets and osteomalacia have made a global resurgence - risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include dark skin pigmentation, cultural practices such as veiling and covering, insufficient exposure to sunlight, and exclusive breastfeeding beyond 6-12 months for at-risk groups.
Simple vitamin D deficiency can cause bone pain, myalgia, myopathy, increased risk of falls, osteoporosis and hip fractures in adults and in children ,whose mothers also usually vitamin D deficiency, it causes seizures, rickets, bowed limbs, fractures and motor delay.
The researchers say vitamin D is not only important for the bones but also for the immune system and cell growth.