Association between serum vitamin D level and liver MRI T2 star in patients with β-thalassemia major

Abstract

Background Iron overloaded Beta Thalassemia major (β-TM) patients have a high risk of liver problems. In recent years studies revealed that vitamin D level is decreased in chronic liver diseases. The present study was designed to find the association between the serum vitamin D levels and the liver iron deposition in patients with β-TM. Materials and methods A total of 101 patients with a diagnosis of β-TM were included into this study. The patients were divided into four groups according to liver T2* MRI scores (group 1: normal, group 2: mild iron load, group 3: moderate iron load and group 4: severe iron load). Serum vitamin D was measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay method. Results The vitamin D level was median 14 (4–91) ng/mL. There was a positive correlation between vitamin D levels and liver T2* MRI scores (r = 0.31, p < 0.05). There is a significant difference between groups 1 and 4 for vitamin D level (p < 0.05). Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) was observed 71% in group 1, 67% in group 2, 80% in group 3 and 100% in group 4. Conclusions Vitamin D monitorization and supplementation should be routine in β-TM patients to prevent both skeletal and non-skeletal complications.