Question

Certain villages in India are very conservative and women are required to wear clothes that completely cover their entire body. Unfortunately these women experience bone pain, fractures, muscle weakness, and depression.
1) Explain why they have bone pain, fractures, muscle weekness, and depression?

2) Explain the relationship between their attire and the signs and symptoms they are experiencing?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. In Indian villages, as the body of women is covered completely with clothes due to the tradition and custom they are abiding to follow, the skin does not come in contact with the sunlight, which further results in the low or no production of vitamin D within the body.  

Due to the deficiency of vitamin D, inadequate absorption of calcium occurs from the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. This eventually leads to impairment in the process of bone mineralization resulting in issues like a fracture, pain in the bone, weakness in muscles and other issues. Vitamin D is also an essential part of the production of certain neurotransmitters and forms an essential component for brain nutrition, thus, its deficiency also results in conditions like depression.  

2. The dresses used by women of Indian villages cover the skin completely, due to which sunlight fails to reach the skin. This results in the lack of vitamin D formation, as for vitamin D sunlight is essential for converting cholesterol present in the skin to 7-dehydrocholesterol also known as pro-vitamin D. This pro-vitamin D is a precursor of vitamin D. Due to no or lack of vitamin D formation, deficiency of calcium takes place within the bones that eventually results in pain and weakness.