Vitamin D Deficiency in the UAE: Why It's So Common in One of the Sunniest Places on Earth.

It is one of the odder facts about living here. The UAE gets sunshine almost every day of the year, and yet vitamin D deficiency is one of the most frequently diagnosed conditions in our clinics. Patients often react the same way when the result comes back: how is that possible, I live in the desert.

The answer is that living somewhere sunny and getting sun exposure are two completely different things. And once you look honestly at how most of us spend a day in the UAE, the pattern stops being surprising.

The sun is there. We are not in it.

Vitamin D is made in the skin when it is hit by UVB radiation. UVB is strongest in the middle of the day — roughly the same window nobody here voluntarily spends time outdoors.

Think about a normal weekday. You leave a flat, walk to a covered car park, drive to an underground car park, take a lift to an office, eat lunch in a food court, and reverse the whole sequence at 6pm. Outdoor life resumes after sunset, when the temperature is bearable and the UVB is gone. From June to September, the heat makes this near-total.

Three further things work against us:

Glass blocks UVB. Sitting by a bright office window or driving in strong sunlight feels like sun exposure. It produces almost no vitamin D. Standard glass filters out the wavelength that matters.

Skin tone changes the requirement. Melanin is a natural sun filter. It is protective, but it means people with darker skin need considerably longer UVB exposure to make the same amount of vitamin D as someone with fair skin. Given how much of the UAE population is of South Asian, Arab and African origin, this affects a very large number of residents.

Clothing and sunscreen. Modest dress, long sleeves, and daily sunscreen all reduce skin exposure. None of these are things to give up — the point is simply that they need to be accounted for rather than assumed away.

Food does not fill the gap

Very few foods contain meaningful vitamin D. Oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel are the main sources, along with egg yolks, some mushrooms, and fortified milk or cereals. Unless oily fish is on your plate several times a week, diet alone will not carry you.

For anyone eating a largely vegetarian diet — again, a substantial share of residents here — the dietary contribution is smaller still.

The symptoms people write off

The frustrating thing about low vitamin D is that it rarely feels like a specific illness. It feels like an ordinary bad patch, which is why it goes unaddressed for years.

The pattern we tend to see:

• Persistent tiredness that sleep does not fix

• Aching muscles, or a dull, deep ache in the lower back, hips or thighs

• Low mood, irritability, or difficulty concentrating

• Bones that feel tender, particularly the shin or breastbone if pressed

• Getting sick more often than you used to, and taking longer to recover

• Hair thinning

• Cramps, or muscle weakness when climbing stairs or standing from a low chair

Any one of these has many possible causes. That is precisely the argument for testing rather than guessing — the symptoms are too vague to diagnose from a description, and several other conditions, including thyroid problems and iron deficiency, produce a nearly identical picture.

In children, low vitamin D matters more urgently, because it affects bone development during growth. Delayed walking, bowed legs, or persistent complaints of leg pain in a child should always be assessed.

How you actually find out

There is one test: a blood test measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D, usually written as 25(OH)D. It is a straightforward blood draw, you do not need to fast for it, and the result is a single number.

Two practical notes. First, check your insurance before paying out of pocket — many plans cover vitamin D testing when a doctor requests it as part of an assessment, and a lot of people pay cash unnecessarily. Second, do not test and then interpret the number yourself. What counts as low, and what should be done about it, depends on your level, your symptoms, your age, and other conditions you may have.

Please don't self-prescribe

Vitamin D is sold everywhere here, and it is genuinely tempting to skip the appointment and buy the strongest tablet on the shelf. It is worth resisting for two reasons.

The first is that the correct dose depends entirely on your starting level. Someone severely deficient may be prescribed a high weekly loading dose for a defined period, followed by a lower maintenance dose. Someone mildly low needs something quite different. Taking a correction dose indefinitely is a common mistake.

The second is that vitamin D is fat-soluble, meaning the body stores it rather than flushing the excess. Sustained excessive intake raises blood calcium, which can cause nausea, excessive thirst, kidney stones and kidney damage. It is uncommon, but it is real, and it happens almost exclusively in people who supplemented on their own for a long time without retesting.

The sensible sequence is: test, treat at the right dose, retest after around three months, then settle onto a maintenance plan.

What genuinely helps

Get outside in the early morning or late afternoon, even briefly. It is more pleasant than midday, and consistency matters more than duration — a short daily walk beats one long weekend exposure. Between November and March, the weather makes this easy, and it is the best window of the year to build the habit.

Put oily fish, eggs and fortified milk into the weekly shop. Take supplements as prescribed rather than as guessed. And if you were low once, assume you will drift low again — the lifestyle that caused it usually has not changed, so an annual recheck is reasonable.

Who should get tested

It is worth requesting a vitamin D test if you spend your working day indoors, cover most of your skin, have darker skin, are pregnant or breastfeeding, are over 50, have osteoporosis or a history of fractures, live with a condition affecting fat absorption, take medication for epilepsy or long-term steroids, or you have been tired and achy for months without a clear explanation.

That description covers a very large proportion of adults living in the UAE. If it sounds like you, it is a reasonable thing to raise at your next appointment.

Common questions

Will fifteen minutes in the sun be enough?

For some people, in the right hours, possibly. For someone with darker skin who is mostly covered, it will not be close. This is why testing beats estimating.

Does a tanning session help?

No. Tanning beds are not a safe or sensible route to vitamin D, and carry their own risks.

How long until I feel better after starting treatment?

Many people notice improvement in energy and aches over six to twelve weeks, though it varies and depends on how low the starting level was.

Can I just take a daily multivitamin instead?

The vitamin D content in most general multivitamins is a maintenance amount, not a correction amount. It will not usually be enough to fix an established deficiency.

This article is general health information and is not a substitute for individual medical advice. Speak to a doctor before starting or changing any supplement.

Want your vitamin D level checked? Book a teleconsultation with a Care and Cure doctor and we'll arrange the test, or walk into any of our clinics — Al Quoz, Sonapur, The HUB in Dubai South, DIP at Oval Mall, Sharjah or Umm Al Quwain. Lifeguard Pharmacy can dispense your prescription on site.