Clinical significance of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

The research aimed to evaluate the level and clinical significance of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Totally 82 untreated RA female patients (RA group) and 32 healthy females (control group) were enrolled.According to the disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28), patients in RA group were divided into remission stage group (<2.6 scores, 32 cases) and active stage group (≥2.6 scores, 50 cases). The correlations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)-D) level with related indicators were analyzed. (1)The levels of serum 25-(OH)-D in female RA active stage group were significantly lower than those in control group [(12.5±6.3) μg/L vs (26.6±5.3) μg/L ] (P<0.01). The levels of serum 25-(OH)-D in female RA remission stage group were significantly lower than those in control group [(14.2±7.2) μg/L vs (26.6±5.3) μg/L] (P<0.01). (2)Serum 25-(OH)-D levels were inversely associated with C reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), DAS28 score (r=-0.575, r=-0.528, r=-0.354, P<0.05) in female RA active stage group, but not in female RA remission stage group (P>0.05). (3)In active stage group, the 25-(OH)-D levels of premenopausal RA patients were negatively correlated with CRP, ESR, DAS28 (r=-0.707, r=-0.625, r=-0.487, P<0.05), but not in postmenopausal RA patients (P>0.05). The 25-(OH)-D levels in serum are reduced in female patients with RA.Serum 25-(OH)-D level can be a marker to monitor the disease activity in RA premenopausal female patients.