Vitamin D Status in Egyptian Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D is a potent regulator of calcium homeostasis and may have immunomodulatory effects. The influence of vitamin D on human autoimmune disease has not been well defined. The aim of this cross sectional study was to estimate the prevalence and determinants of vitamin D deficiency in patients with rheumatoid arthritis as compared to healthy controls and to analyze the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D with disease activity. Methods: The study includes 55 consecutive rheumatoid arthritis patients and 25 healthy controls, not on vitamin D supplements. Together with parameters of disease activity, all patients had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] measured by ELISA kit in a centralized laboratory. Disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis was assessed by Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). According to activity indexes, patients were divided into subgroups with high activity of the disease (DAS28>5.1), moderate activity of the disease (3.2 Results: 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency, insufficiency and sufficiency were found in 16.00, 4.00 and 80.00% of controls, respectively, while, 25(OH)D insufficiency and sufficiency were found in 21.80 and 78.20% of rheumatoid arthritis patients, respectively with no significant difference between groups (P 5.1). Disease duration was significantly longer in patients with moderate disease activity vs. those with low and high disease activity (P Conclusions: In rheumatoid arthritis patients, vitamin D deficiency is quite common, but similar to that found in control subjects; disease activity (expressed as ESR) is inversely related to 25(OH)D levels.