Ainan ARSHAD1, Saad Bin Zafar MAHMOOD1, Ahmed AYAZ2, Adil Al Karim MANJI2, Akash Kumar AHUJA2

1Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
2Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Keywords: Autoimmune disease, rheumatology, systemic lupus erythematosus, vitamin D

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Pakistani systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and the effect of vitamin D deficiency on the severity and outcomes of SLE.

Patients and methods: This retrospective study evaluated SLE patients presenting to our hospital between January 2009 and December 2018. A total of 98 patients (13 males, 85 females; mean age 39.8±14.9 years; range, 16 to 73 years) with vitamin D levels available at the time of diagnosis were included in the study. Disease activity was measured using SLE disease activity score at the time of diagnosis and at the two-year mark.

Results: Sixty-five patients were deficient in Vitamin D and out of those 46 were severely deficient. The severe disease group had more patients with vitamin D deficiency at both visits (43/78 and 33/46) while patients in remission all had normal vitamin D (12/12 and 14/14) (p≤0.001).

Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is common in SLE patients and also significantly associated with increased disease activity at the time of diagnosis and at the two-year mark. We hope this study becomes a platform for the global medical community to come together and implement early screen-
ing and monitoring of vitamin D levels and to determine the optimal level of supplementation for prevention of poor outcomes in SLE.

Citation: Arshad A, Mahmood SBZ, Ayaz A, Manji AAK, Ahuja AK. Association of vitamin D deficiency and disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: Two-year follow-up study. Arch Rheumatol 2021;36(1):101-106.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.