Approximately one-third (36.7%) of surveyed Egyptians and Jordanians used vitamin D supplements, with supplementation more prevalent among Jordanians than Egyptians and associated with female gender, high income, chronic disease, laboratory testing, and awareness of deficiency symptoms.
Approximately one-third of the study sample used vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D supplementation was significantly more prevalent among Jordanians than Egyptians.
Several demographic and health-related factors were associated with vitamin D supplement use.
Sun exposure and dietary changes were the most commonly reported practices for maintaining adequate vitamin D levels.
The internet, university/school curricula, and healthcare providers were the main sources of vitamin D-related information for participants.
This research surveyed 1,181 people from Egypt and Jordan between April and October 2024 to understand how commonly people take vitamin D supplements and what factors influence that behavior. The study found that about one in three participants (36.7%) were taking vitamin D supplements, though this varied significantly by country — nearly half of Jordanians (45.2%) were supplementing compared to about one in four Egyptians (27.2%). People were more likely to take supplements if they were women, had higher incomes, had a chronic disease, had previously been tested for vitamin D levels, or were aware of what vitamin D deficiency symptoms look like. Beyond supplements, the study also looked at other ways people try to keep their vitamin D levels healthy. The most popular approach was sun exposure, used by about 85% of participants, followed by eating vitamin D-rich foods (nearly 80%), and regularly getting blood tests to check vitamin D levels (about half of participants). People learned about vitamin D primarily from the internet, school or university education, and healthcare providers. This research matters because vitamin D deficiency is common across the Middle East despite the region's abundant sunshine, and understanding who is and isn't supplementing — and why — can help health authorities design better public health programs. The gap between Egypt and Jordan in supplement use, and the strong role of income and healthcare access in predicting supplementation, suggests that cost and access to medical testing may be important barriers to address.
Upload your bloodwork. We'll cross-reference your results against this study and 4,700 others.
Upload Your LabsKhabour T, Khabour O, Hassanein S. (2026). Vitamin D supplement use in Egypt and Jordan and associated factors: A survey-based study.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357029