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Joint Detection of Serum Vitamin D, Body Mass Index, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha for the Diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease

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Abstract

Objective

Vitamin D (VD) deficiency was reported to contribute to the progression of Crohn’s disease (CD) and affect the prognosis of CD patients. This study investigated the role of serum VD, body mass index (BMI), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.

Methods

CD patients (n=76) and healthy subjects (n=76) were enrolled between May 2019 and December 2020. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels, BMI, and TNF-α levels, together with other biochemical parameters, were assessed before treatment. The diagnostic efficacy of the single and joint detection of serum 25(OH)D, BMI, and TNF-α was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Results

The levels of 25(OH) D, BMI, and nutritional indicators, including hemoglobin, total protein, albumin, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, were much lower, and the TNF-α levels were much higher in the CD patients than in the healthy subjects (P<0.05 for all). The areas under the ROC curve for the single detection of 25(OH)D, BMI, and TNF-α were 0.887, 0.896, and 0.838, respectively, with the optimal cutoff values being 20.64 ng/mL, 19.77 kg/m2, and 6.85 fmol/mL, respectively. The diagnostic efficacy of the joint detection of 25(OH)D, BMI, and TNF-α was the highest, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.988 (95%CI: 0.968–1.000).

Conclusion

The joint detection of 25(OH)D, TNF-α, and BMI showed high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in CD diagnosis; thus, it would be effective for the diagnosis of CD in clinical practice.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank our study volunteers, the hospital staff, and the laboratory staff for their assistance in performing the studies.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work and are the co-first authors for this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Ying Zheng, Yan-jun Zhang & Wen-jun Ma

  2. The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Jing-hong Li, Jun-long Lin & Xin-bin Chen

  3. Department of Gastroenterology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Shan-ying Liao & Wei-hong Sha

  4. The First School of Clinical Medicine & Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Yi-ming Fu

  5. Department of Gastroenterology, Guangdong Provincial Geriatrics Institute, National Key Clinical Specialty, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Shi-xue Dai

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  1. Ying Zheng
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wei-hong Sha, Shi-xue Dai or Wen-jun Ma.

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Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

This research was funded by Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Projects (No. 202002020066), the Young Scientists to the NSFC Application of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (No. 8210120306) and the Open Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Seaweed Substance (No. SKL-BMSG2022-03).

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Zheng, Y., Li, Jh., Liao, Sy. et al. Joint Detection of Serum Vitamin D, Body Mass Index, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha for the Diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. CURR MED SCI 43, 496–504 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-023-2741-6

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