VITAMIN D AND ITS ROLE IN COURSE OF INFLAMMATORY DISEASES OF JOINTS IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Studies of recent decades have found that vitamin D implements immunoregulatory effects by influence on mechanisms of nonspecific protection from infectious agents, as well as on a system of a specific immune response. A number of studies indicate a relationschip between vitamin D deficiency and the autoimmune diseases onset.Objective. To improve diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and reactive arthritis in children by studying of the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D impact on disease activity. Materials and methods. 80 children aged 2 to 16 years were observed. I group included 20 children with articular form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), II group - 40 children with reactive arthritis (RA). The control group consisted of 20 healthy children. To all children level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured by enzyme immunoassay.Results. A significant 25-hydroxyvitamin D decrease was found among children with JRA 19.53 [12.34;27.50] mmol/L and RA 22.77 [12.39;36.33] in comparison with the children of control group 27.08 [19.87;50.90] mmol/l (p<0,05). Inverse correlation was found between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and number of affected joints in children with JRA (p<0,02), as well as between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and indicators of laboratory activity in RA and JRA patients (p<0,05).Conclusion. This study indicates a reliable relationship between the disease аctivity and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin in reactive arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients. Thus, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D can be used as a marker of disease severity, as well as for predicting the course of inflammatory joint disease in children.