Vitamin D status of patients with early inflammatory arthritis.
The present study aimed to investigate the vitamin D status in patients with early inflammatory arthritis (EIA). We conducted a retrospective study among patients who presented with EIA at the outpatient rheumatology clinic of a tertiary referral center between March 2012 and February 2013. In total, 101 subjects with EIA (≥1 swollen joint and symptom duration of ≤6 months, not explained by another disease) and 101 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and the month of serum vitamin D measurements were enrolled. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) concentrations were assessed by radioimmunoassay. Vitamin D "deficiency" and "severe deficiency" were defined as serum 25-OHD levels <20 and <10 ng/mL, respectively. Among EIA patients, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was classified according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League against Rheumatism criteria. Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent among EIA patients, but no significant differences in the frequency of vitamin D deficiency of EIA patients and controls were observed (75.2 vs 65.3%, p = 0.106). Additionally, in spring and summer, EIA patients had significantly lower serum 25-OHD concentrations than controls, but the opposite trend was observed in autumn. Among 101 EIA patients, 38 (37.1%) were classified as having RA. Severe vitamin D deficiency in EIA patients was significantly associated with the higher likelihood of being classified as having RA. In conclusion, the frequency of vitamin D deficiency in EIA patients was comparable to that in controls, but severe vitamin D deficiency was associated with the presence of RA among EIA patients.
Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, South Korea.
Young-Eun
YE
Park
Bo-Hyun
BH
Kim
Seung-Geun
SG
Lee
Eun-Kyung
EK
Park
Ji-Heh
JH
Park
Sun-Hee
SH
Lee
Geun-Tae
GT
Kim
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications
D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D