The objective of current study was conducted to determine whether low vitamin D level and BMD are associated with depressive symptoms as burden in Arab women during the menopausal and post-menopausal period.

A cross-sectional descriptive study.

A multi-stage sampling design was used and a representative sample of 1436 women aged 45–65 years were included.

Bone mineral densitometry measurements [BMD] (g/m2) was assessed at the BMD unit using. Data on body mass index (BMI), clinical biochemistry variables including serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D were collected. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered for depression purposes.

Of the 1436 women living in urban and rural areas, 1106 women agreed to participate (77.0%). There were statistically significance differences between menopausal stages with regards to ethnicity, education level, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, parity, sheesha smoking and depressive symptoms. Overall, 30.4% of women were affected with osteopenia/osteoporosis in menopause and postmenopausal (24.4% vs. 35.7%; P = 0.0442). Osteopenia in menopause and postmenopausal (18.7% vs. 29.3%; P = 0.030) and osteoporosis (9.9% vs. 15.9%; P = 0.049) were significantly higher in post-menopausal women than in pre-menopausal women (P = 0.046). Similarly, vitamin D deficiency was more prevalent among postmenopausal women than menopausal women. The study revealed that vitamin D level, hemoglobin level, serum iron fasting plasma glucose, calcium, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, alkaline phosphate and magnesium were considerably lower in postmenopausal compared to menopause women (P < 0.001).

The study confirmed strong association between vitamin D level and BMD in Arab women during the menopausal and post-menopausal period.

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.