In 2020, Akrikhin, a leading Russian pharmaceutical company, has started a large-scale socially-oriented project to draw attention to the issue of vitamin D insufficiency in adults in the Russian Federation. As part of the project, Akrikhin carried out an extensive study on the level of vitamin D in adults in Russia, and also launched the educational portal D-ficitu.net containing up-to-date and useful information on the major role and influence of vitamin D in our life.

Nowadays, the issue of vitamin D insufficiency is of great relevance. Long-standing deficiency of vitamin D may occur in people of various age and lead to serious disorders in the body, cause diseases of the skeletal system and other tissues and organs, as well as a decrease in immunity and metabolic disorders.

The extensive study carried out by Akrikhin based on Invitro laboratories in 2020 involved 445 persons aged between 18 and 50 from 11 Russian cities. According to the study results:

• Eight out of ten people in Russia suffer from vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency – the common level of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is 84%.
• Vitamin D deficiency is more frequent in male population – only 8.6% of men have a normal level of vitamin D in their blood. The females with a normal vitamin D level account for 18%.
• Young people aged between 20 and 30 suffer from vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency most of all.
• Contrary to popular belief, the level of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, in fact, has little to do with the region of residence and the number of sunny days in a year – the residents of both northern and southern cities suffer from it equally.

Reliable and detailed information on the issue of vitamin D deficiency and importance of the level of vitamin D in blood is available for Russian nationals in the dedicated educational resource at D-ficitu.net. The website features a calculator using which you can get nutrition tips and lifestyle recommendations depending on your level of vitamin D, to be known from the test results obtained in a medical institution. The project initiators believe that this development will help to increase the awareness of the Russian people not only about the role of vitamin D in their life, but also the importance of maintaining the normal level of vitamin D for human body.