Narendra Meena1, Sumit Pal Singh Chawla1, Ravinder Garg1, Anil Batta2, Sarabjot Kaur1
1Department of Medicine, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab, India.
2Department of Biochemistry, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab, India
DOI: 10.4103/jnsbm.JNSBM_128_17

ABSTRACT

Background: Vitamin D is believed to have an immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory action, and its deficiency has been linked with several autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The relationship between the severity of RA and serum levels of Vitamin D is a subject of immense interest and therapeutic implications. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, comparative study conducted on 100 participants, 50 cases of RA and 50 healthy controls, all in the age group of 18–75 years. Serum Vitamin D levels were measured and compared in cases and controls. Vitamin D levels in RA patients were also assessed in different stages of disease activity to assess the correlation between the two. Results: Eighty-four percent patients of RA were Vitamin D deficient versus only 34% of controls. The serum Vitamin D levels were also significantly lower in the RA patients (mean value of 21.05 ± 10.02 ng/ml), as compared to the controls (mean value of 32.87 ± 14.16 ng/ml). There was a significant inverse correlation between serum Vitamin D levels and RA disease activity. The mean serum Vitamin D levels were 35.28 ± 9.0 ng/ml, 33.80 ± 4.1 ng/ml, 22.47 ± 6.18 ng/ml, and 14.21 ± 6.97 ng/ml in the remission, low disease activity, moderate disease activity, and high disease activity groups, respectively. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is more common in RA patients and may be one of the causes leading to development or worsening of the disease.

Keywords: Disease activity, rheumatoid arthritis, Vitamin D

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