Vitamin D: What Dubai Residents Need to Know

Living in a sunny city like Dubai, you might expect everyone to have healthy vitamin D levels — yet deficiency is common. If you're feeling tired, experiencing muscle aches, or worried about bone health, it's worth understanding why vitamin D matters, why many people are low, and how to check and correct it safely. It's always best to consult a healthcare professional for a diagnosis. Our doctors at Zaincura can provide a personalized assessment.

What causes you to be low in vitamin D?

Vitamin D levels fall when intake, production, or absorption can't meet the body's needs. Common causes include:

• Limited sun exposure: Vitamin D is produced in skin exposed to UVB radiation. People who spend long hours indoors, work night shifts, avoid the midday sun to escape Dubai's heat, or use high-SPF sunscreen can make much less vitamin D.
• Skin coverage and cultural clothing: Clothing that covers most of the skin reduces UVB exposure and is a recognised factor in lower vitamin D status.
• Darker skin pigmentation: Melanin reduces UVB penetration, so individuals with darker skin need more sun exposure to produce the same vitamin D as lighter-skinned people.
• Obesity: Vitamin D is fat-soluble and can become sequestered in adipose tissue, lowering available circulating levels.
• Age and reduced skin synthesis: Older adults produce vitamin D less efficiently in response to sunlight.
• Malabsorption and certain medical conditions: Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, gastric bypass, and other conditions that reduce fat absorption can decrease vitamin D uptake.
• Medications: Some anticonvulsants, glucocorticoids, and weight-loss drugs affect vitamin D metabolism.
• Liver or kidney disease: Conversion of vitamin D into its active forms depends on liver and kidney function.

Why do people's vitamin D be low?

Beyond individual causes, broader lifestyle and environmental trends help explain why vitamin D deficiency is common worldwide:

• Modern indoor lifestyles: Increased time inside offices, homes, malls and cars reduces routine sun exposure.
• Sun avoidance and sunscreen use: While important for skin cancer prevention, these habits also lower vitamin D synthesis when used extensively.
• Urban living and air pollution: High-rise buildings, shade, and air particulates can reduce UVB reaching the skin.
• Dietary gaps: Few foods naturally contain significant vitamin D (fatty fish, egg yolks, some fortified products). Unless diets include these regularly or fortified foods are consumed, dietary vitamin D is often inadequate.
• Global prevalence: Numerous population studies show vitamin D insufficiency across regions and age groups, making it a widespread public health concern.

In Dubai specifically, the combination of intense heat (leading people to avoid daytime sun), cultural clothing practices, a large expatriate community with diverse skin types, and predominantly indoor work patterns contribute to lower-than-expected vitamin D status despite abundant sunlight.

Why do so many people have low vitamin D?

Several systemic reasons explain the high prevalence of low vitamin D:

1. Conflicting public health priorities – balancing sun exposure for vitamin D and sun protection to prevent skin cancer is complex.
2. Insufficient routine screening – vitamin D testing is not always part of standard health checks unless symptoms or risk factors are present.
3. Variable guidelines – different organisations give different target levels and supplementation recommendations, causing mixed public messaging.
4. Economic and dietary factors – not everyone has access to or regularly consumes vitamin D–rich foods or supplements.

Understanding these patterns helps clinicians design local screening and prevention strategies. In Dubai, targeted public health messaging, clinician awareness, and accessible testing can reduce the burden of undiagnosed deficiency.

Interesting facts about vitamin D

• Vitamin D functions more like a hormone than a typical vitamin: it helps regulate calcium and phosphate metabolism and influences bone and muscle health, and it has roles in immune function.
• The skin makes vitamin D when exposed to UVB light; sunscreen, clothing, glass windows and air pollution reduce UVB exposure.
• Vitamin D is fat‑soluble and can be stored in adipose tissue — this both provides a reserve and can lower circulating levels in people with obesity.
• There are two main supplemental forms: D3 (cholecalciferol) and D2 (ergocalciferol); D3 is generally preferred for raising and maintaining blood levels.
• Food sources are limited: oily fish, egg yolks and fortified products are the main contributors in most diets.
• Deficiency is common worldwide across all ages, even in sunny countries.

Ideal time in the UAE to get vitamin D from the sun

The UAE has a hot desert (arid) climate (Köppen classification BWh) with very high temperatures and frequent high UV index values, especially in summer. Because the midday sun is intense and the heat can make prolonged outdoor exposure unsafe, here are practical recommendations:

• Avoid prolonged midday exposure (roughly 10:00–16:00) in the summer months when UV and heat are highest.
• Short, regular exposures during lower‑intensity periods are safer and effective: early morning (for example, before 10:00) or late afternoon (after ~16:00–17:00) are generally better times to get sun for vitamin D synthesis without prolonged heat stress.
• Duration varies by skin type: lighter skin may need as little as 5–15 minutes a few times per week on exposed arms and face; darker skin may require longer exposures. Seasonal variation also matters — in cooler months (late autumn to early spring), slightly longer exposures may be needed.
• Always balance sun exposure with skin cancer risk, use sun protection for prolonged outdoor activities, and consider shade/clothing during peak heat.

How do you treat low vitamin D levels?

Treatment aims to restore and maintain an adequate 25‑hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) blood level. Approaches include:

• Diagnostic testing: A simple blood test measuring 25(OH)D is the standard way to assess vitamin D status. It's the first step before starting long-term supplementation or high-dose regimens.
• Safe sun exposure: Short daily sun exposure to uncovered skin (face, arms, hands) can help, but practical advice depends on skin type, local climate, and personal skin cancer risk.
• Dietary changes: Include vitamin D–rich foods such as oily fish (salmon, mackerel), egg yolks, fortified dairy or plant milks, and fortified cereals.
• Supplementation: Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is commonly used for supplementation. Dose and duration depend on baseline levels, age, weight, medical conditions, and concurrent medications. Lower maintenance doses may prevent deficiency, while short courses of higher doses are sometimes used to correct deficiency under medical supervision.
• Addressing underlying causes: Managing conditions that impair absorption or altering interacting medications is important for long-term success.

It's always best to consult a healthcare professional for a diagnosis and personalised treatment plan. Avoid self-prescribing high-dose vitamin D without medical supervision because excessive doses can cause harm.

When to Visit a Doctor at Zaincura

If you have persistent symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, bone or muscle pain, frequent falls, or risk factors (dark skin, obesity, certain medical conditions, or a history of malabsorption), consider booking an appointment. Our doctors at Zaincura can:

• Order and interpret a 25(OH)D blood test and related labs
• Recommend a safe, evidence-based supplementation plan tailored to your needs
• Evaluate for underlying causes (medications, absorption issues, liver/kidney disease)
• Provide guidance on safe sun exposure and dietary strategies appropriate for life in Dubai

Even without clear symptoms, getting a simple 25(OH)D blood test is a healthy preventive choice and can be added to routine health checks — speak to your clinician about whether testing is right for you. If you are already on vitamin D therapy and have concerns about dose or side effects, schedule a follow-up to ensure safe care.

Conclusion

Vitamin D deficiency is common even in sunny regions like Dubai due to lifestyle, cultural, biological, and environmental factors. It plays a crucial role in bone, muscle and possibly immune health. Testing with a 25(OH)D blood test, combined with tailored sun, diet and supplementation strategies, can restore and maintain healthy levels. It's always best to consult a healthcare professional for a diagnosis. Our doctors at Zaincura can provide a personalized assessment and guide safe, effective correction of vitamin D deficiency. Consider a vitamin D test as part of proactive, preventive health care.

References

• NHS. Vitamin D — NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vitamin D. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/micronutrient-malnutrition/micronutrients/vitamin-d.html
• Mayo Clinic. Vitamin D deficiency — Diagnosis and treatment. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/vitamin-d-test/about/pac-20384604
• Cleveland Clinic. Vitamin D Deficiency. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17603-vitamin-d-deficiency
• Palacios C, González L. Is vitamin D deficiency a major global public health problem? J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2014. (Review available via PubMed) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/