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Vitamin D may not be a good marker of disease activity in Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract

Vitamin D is a pleiotrophic hormone with immunoregulatory properties. Low levels of vitamin D have been discovered in various autoimmune diseases. Here, we investigated serum vitamin D levels in Koreans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and examined whether levels correlate with disease activity of SLE. Blood samples were prospectively collected from patients with SLE (n = 104) and normal controls (NC, n = 49) during the spring from March to May 2008. The level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D3) was measured by radioimmunoassay. The serum 25(OH)D3 levels of patients with SLE (42.49 ± 15.08 ng/ml) were significantly lower than NC (52.72 ± 15.19 ng/ml, P < 0.001). Additionally, 17 patients with SLE (16.3%) had vitamin D insufficiency, while two NC had vitamin D insufficiency (4.1%). The risk of vitamin D insufficiency was 4.6-fold increased in SLE (P = 0.032). The serum 25(OH)D3 levels, adjusted with BMI, were positively correlated only with hemoglobin (β = 0.256, P = 0.018) and serum complement 3 (β = 0.365, P = 0.002). Serum vitamin D levels were lower, and vitamin D insufficiency was more common in Korean patients with SLE, however, our study demonstrated that vitamin D levels might not be a good marker of disease activity.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Brain Korea 21 project for Ajou University School of Medicine and a grant of the Korea Healthcare technology R&D Project, Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Republic of Korea (A080588).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, and BK21 Division of Cell Transformation and Restoration, Ajou University School of Medicine, Woncheon-dong San 5, Youngtong-gu, Suwon, 443-721, Korea

    Hyoun-Ah Kim, Jun-Mo Sung, Ja-Young Jeon, Jeong-Moon Yoon & Chang-Hee Suh

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  1. Hyoun-Ah Kim
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  2. Jun-Mo Sung
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  3. Ja-Young Jeon
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Correspondence to Chang-Hee Suh.

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Kim, HA., Sung, JM., Jeon, JY. et al. Vitamin D may not be a good marker of disease activity in Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheumatol Int 31, 1189–1194 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-010-1442-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-010-1442-1

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