Low Vitamin K and Vitamin D Dietary Intake in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Abstract

The inadequate dietary intake of Vitamin D and Vitamin K is an easily reversible factor favoring IBD-associated bone loss, but data on Vitamin K are lacking. A 28-item quantitative food frequency questionnaire was administered to 193 IBD patients (89 Crohn’s disease and 104 ulcerative colitis), and 199 controls. Patients’ demographics, clinical and laboratory findings were analyzed in relation to recommended daily allowances. VitD intake was inadequate both in the IBD and control patients (8.3 ± 4.5 µg/day in IBD, 53.1% RDA, and 9.7 ± 5.9 µg/day, 63.2% RDA, respectively). Conversely, the mean ViK intake was less than adequate in IBD, at 116.7 ± 116.3 µg/day (78.7% RDA), and high in controls, at 203.1 ± 166.9 µg/day (138.8% RDA). Nonetheless, due to marked inter-individual differences, diets were severely lacking VitK in 40% of UC and 49% of CD patients, more so in females and those with active disease. The intake of Vit D was non-significantly lower in colitis than that in Crohn’s disease (7.9 vs. 8.7 µg/day). The opposite was observed for VitK (123.5 vs. 107.0 µg/day). Thus, the diet lacks the micronutrients involved in bone wellbeing in a large proportion of IBD patients. While VitD supplementation is the rule, VitK shortages need proactive nutritional intervention.

The Power of Vitamin D: Is the Future in Precision Nutrition through Personalized Supplementation Plans?

“…In the mentioned study, margarine and butter were the primary sources contributing to the overall vitamin D intake [ 150 ]. An average vitamin D intake lower than the recommended dietary allowance was confirmed in numerous other studies conducted in different population groups [ 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 ].…”

Unraveling the gut-Lung axis: Exploring complex mechanisms in disease interplay

“…Vitamin D deficiency is reported in gut and lung diseases, such as IBD, asthma, COPD, tuberculosis, and COVID-19 [ [82] , [83] , [84] ]. However, the bridging mechanisms are not well understood.…”