title: Potential benefits of vitamin D for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex multi-system autoimmune disease. Vitamin D deficiency has been proposed as an environmental trigger of disease onset and as a contributor to increased SLE activity. SLE patients are prone to develop vitamin D deficiency because of photosensitivity leading to sun avoidance and other sun protective measures. The impact of vitamin D on immune function previously seen in vitro and in cross-sectional studies has now been shown in prospective human studies, strengthening the evidence that there is a connection between SLE and vitamin D status. This review describes the role of vitamin D on immune function, prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with SLE, identify risk factors for deficiency, describe the consequences of deficiency in SLE patients, and review current vitamin D recommendations for patients with SLE.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology; Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston, SC USA.
authors.forename: Abha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Diane L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kamen