Vitamin D levels in juvenile idiopathic arthritis from an equatorial region

• Published in: Rheumatology international 2015-10, Vol.35 (10), p.1717-1723
• Main Authors: de Sousa Studart, Sâmia Araújo, Leite, Ana Caroline Rocha Melo, Marinho, Aryana Lushese Lima Feitosa, Pinto, Ana Carolina Matias Dinelly, Rabelo Júnior, Carlos Nobre, de Melo Nunes, Rodolfo, Rocha, Hermano Alexandre Lima, Rocha, Francisco Airton Castro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Arthritis, Juvenile - blood; Arthritis, Juvenile - diagnosis; Brazil - epidemiology; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article - Observational Research; Parathyroid Hormone - blood; Prevalence; Rheumatology; Seasons; Vitamin D - analogs & derivatives; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - diagnosis; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0172-8172; 1437-160X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00296-015-3287-0

We aimed to describe the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients living in a low-latitude (3°43′S) region. Fifty JIA patients, 31 (62 %) female, seen between May 2012 and April 2013 in the northeast of Brazil had clinical data and serum collected for determination of 25OHD and parathyroid hormone (PTH) using a chemiluminescent ELISA; 20 age- and sex-matched controls were used for comparison. Mean age was 13.4 ± 4 years. Twenty-five (50 %), 15 (30 %), 4 (8 %), 4 (8 %), and 2 (4 %) patients were of the polyarticular, oligoarticular, systemic, enthesitis-related, and undifferentiated categories, respectively. Mean 25OHD was 31.6 ± 10 and 30.4 ± 5.7 ng/mL in patients and controls ( P  > 0.05), respectively; PTH was normal in JIA and controls; 25OHD was similar regardless of JIA category, disease activity, or severity measured by JADAS-27, CHAQ, or presence of joint deformities. Twenty-six (52 %), 20 (40 %), and 4 (8 %) patients were considered to have optimal, sufficient, and deficient 25OHD levels, respectively, whereas 11 (52 %) and 10 (48 %) controls had optimal and sufficient 25OHD. Ethnicity, body mass index, seasonal variation, and use of steroids did not influence 25OHD levels. This is the first study on 25OHD levels in JIA patients living in a low-latitude region, showing the lowest prevalence of vitamin D deficiency ever reported. Serum 25OHD was similar in JIA and controls and did not vary regardless of JIA category or severity.