[01] Shalini Krishnappan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Azel Azam Nair, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Sanjei Basker, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Vinithaa Gunasagaran, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Rhimaza Abdul Rishad, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

We being medical students have a rudimentary understanding of the metabolism and functions of Vitamin D but how well can that be translated to everyday life. We aimed to find out the knowledge, attitude and perception about Vitamin D, its deficiency and management amongst undergraduate medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst fourth- and fifth-year clinical phase medical students of Melaka Manipal Medical College. An online questionnaire was distributed via google forms and a total of 110 total responses were collected. The data was then analyzed statistically using Epi info software version 7.2.4.0. Unpaired T-test, ANOVA, X² and logistic regression tests were used to analyze the data. The findings show that 82.73% of participants obtained a low knowledge score. A massive 91.82% participants obtain their Vitamin D information via university lecture classes. In regard to, to attitude, the majority of participants 67.27% have a poor attitude towards sunlight exposure. 71.82% of participants do not take a vitamin D supplement. This study shows that there is a significant association (P-value= 0.030) between race of participant and the attitude towards sunlight exposure. A significant positive association was established between the presence of a history of familial Vitamin D deficiency with the consumption of Vitamin D supplements (OR=16.23, 95% CI=2.96-88.93, P-value <0.001, X² value=14.97). However, there was no association between the year of study and the knowledge of participants. In summary, it is clear that both Knowledge and attitude of participants are clearly underwhelming. The perception of participants towards Vitamin D is very low. Thus, it is clear that we make the recommendation to the institute to emphasize and increase student participation in relation towards said students knowledge of Vitamin D and its deficiency so that when said students become practitioners of medicine they will not miss a diagnosis of Vitamin D deficiency.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Perception, Practice, Vitamin D Deficiency, Medical Students

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