The Relationship between Vitamin D Serum Levels, Disease Severity, and Bleeding Volume in Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Abstract

Background: Stroke is the main cause of death and disability worldwide. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a subtype that contributes to 10 to 20% of all stroke events. Meanwhile, several studies in Indonesia show that the rates of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are still high, at 60.6% and 33.3% respectively in young adults. Several studies have shown vitamin D deficiency during hospital admission is a potential biomarker for poor functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke or ICH. This research aimed to analyze the relationship between serum vitamin D levels, disease severity, and bleeding volume of ICH patients. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional to assess the relationship between serum vitamin D levels, categorized as deficiency (<20 ng/mL), insufficiency (20-30 ng/mL), and normal (>30 ng/mL), with the severity of ICH as assessed by the NIHSS score and bleeding volume on head CT scans. Results: From a total of 31 patients, the Spearman correlation test of the relationship between vitamin D levels and NIHSS scores obtained a weak correlation (r=0.127; p=0.494). The Kruskal Wallis test showed that there was no significant difference in the mean value of NIHSS scores in the vitamin D level categories (p=0.310). The Spearman correlation test of the relationship between vitamin D levels and bleeding volume obtained a weak correlation with an (r=0.044; p=0.823). The Kruskal Wallis test showed there was no significant difference in the mean value of bleeding volume in the vitamin D level category (p=0.439). Conclusion: There is no relationship between serum vitamin D levels, disease severity, and bleeding volume in ICH patients. Further research is needed to analyze the relationship between vitamin D serum levels and the severity of ICH with a retrospective cohort study design and discuss the effect of vitamin D on long-term functional outcomes.