Higher vitamin D serum concentration increases health related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Nov 14;20(42):15787-96. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i42.15787.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the effect of vitamin D (VD) concentrations and VD supplementation on health related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients.

Methods: A cohort of 220 IBD patients including 141 Crohn's disease (CD) and 79 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients was followed-up at a tertiary IBD center. A subgroup of the cohort (n = 26) took VD supplements for > 3 mo. Health related quality of life was assessed using the short IBD questionnaire (sIBDQ). VD serum concentration and sIBDQ score were assessed between August and October 2012 (summer/autumn period) and between February and April 2013 (winter/spring period). The mean VD serum concentration and its correlation with disease activity of CD were determined for each season separately. In a subgroup of patients, the effects of VD supplementation on winter VD serum concentration, change in VD serum concentration from summer to winter, and winter sIBDQ score were analyzed.

Results: During the summer/autumn and the winter/spring period, 28% and 42% of IBD patients were VD-deficient (< 20 ng/mL), respectively. In the winter/spring period, there was a significant correlation between sIBDQ score and VD serum concentration in UC patients (r = 0.35, P = 0.02), with a trend towards significance in CD patients (r = 0.17, P = 0.06). In the winter/spring period, VD-insufficient patients (< 30 ng/mL) had a significantly lower mean sIBDQ score than VD-sufficient patients; this was true of both UC (48.3 ± 2.3 vs 56.7 ± 3.4, P = 0.04) and CD (55.7 ± 1.25 vs 60.8 ± 2.14, P = 0.04) patients. In all analyzed scenarios (UC/CD, the summer/autumn period and the winter/spring period), health related quality of life was the highest in patients with VD serum concentrations of 50-59 ng/mL. Supplementation with a median of 800 IU/d VD day did not influence VD serum concentration or the sIBDQ score.

Conclusion: VD serum concentration correlated with health related quality of life in UC and CD patients during the winter/spring period.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; Health related quality of life; Ulcerative colitis; Vitamin D; Vitamin D supplementation.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Calcifediol / therapeutic use
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / blood*
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / diagnosis
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / epidemiology
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / psychology*
  • Crohn Disease / blood*
  • Crohn Disease / diagnosis
  • Crohn Disease / epidemiology
  • Crohn Disease / psychology*
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Quality of Life*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Seasons
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Slovakia / epidemiology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Tertiary Care Centers
  • Time Factors
  • Vitamin D / analogs & derivatives*
  • Vitamin D / blood
  • Vitamin D / therapeutic use
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / blood*
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / drug therapy
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / epidemiology
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / psychology*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Vitamin D
  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D
  • Calcifediol