Aim: Data on vitamin D intake are not available for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aim of this study was to determine the level of sun exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D in the general adult Congolese population. Methods: Between January and March 2024, 14,750 respondents (age= 31.3±12.5 years, 53.5% male) completed a questionnaire on sun exposure and dietary vitamin D intake. The association between satisfactory vitamin D intake ≥ 15 μg/day and hypothesised determinants was modelled in a multiple logistic regression. Results: Of the 14,750 participants, 1,238 (8.4%) had very fair skin, 4,601 (31.2%) had less than 15 minutes' exposure to the sun, 5,281 (35.8%) had only their head exposed to the sun and 2,509 (17.0%) had a vitamin D test. Fish was the main source of vitamin D intake [3.0 (1.0-7.0) μg/100 gr/day]. Finally, satisfactory vitamin D intake was significantly more frequent in participants aged < 40 years (adjusted OR= 2.45; p=0.0007), in those with a low socio-economic level (adjusted OR= 1.23; p=0.01) and in one of the towns studied (adjusted OR= 1.64; p=0.0001). Conclusion: A low level of sun exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D is observed in the general Congolese population. Vitamin D intake is influenced by age and socio-economic status. The introduction of a vitamin D programme integrated into funded programmes (TB, HIV) would make it possible, at a lower cost, to combat vitamin D deficiency by raising awareness, screening and treating the general Congolese population.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This research was partially funded as part of the Seed Grant for new African Principal Investigator programme (SG-NAPI Award for 2021: SG-NAPI No. 4500454048) organised by the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The protocol for this study was accepted by the ethics committee of the official University of Bukavu. (UOB/CEM/013/2023).

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript