title: Vitamin D status in veterans with inflammatory bowel disease: relationship to health care costs and services.
abstract: Vitamin D deficiency is a global pandemic associated with increased health care costs and could play a role in the pathogenesis and management of inflammatory bowel disease. This study examined vitamin D status in veterans with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) and assessed its relationship to health care costs and service utilization. Veteran patients (n = 125) with UC or CD and with an available 25-hydroxyvitamin D level were studied. CD patients were more likely to be vitamin D insufficient than the UC group. Despite the higher vitamin D levels among UC patients, they were significantly more likely to utilize laboratory and pharmacy services compared with CD patients, whereas patients with CD had significantly higher radiology and pharmacy costs. Thus, it is likely that disease-specific characteristics rather than vitamin D status determine the costs of health care services in veterans with established inflammatory bowel disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, East Tennessee State University, PO Box 70622, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA.
authors.forename: Antwan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atia
authors.forename: Ravindra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.forename: Linda L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: Dima
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Youssef
authors.forename: Alan N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Peiris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000191:economics*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014728:Veterans; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D