Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency in 2 Independent Cohorts of Patients with Systemic Sclerosis

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency was very common in the 2 SSc populations, independent of geographic origin and vitamin D supplementation. This suggests that common vitamin D supplementation does not correct the deficiency in SSc patients, and that a higher dose is probably needed, especially in those with high inflammatory activity or severe disease.

Association between hypovitaminosis D and systemic sclerosis: True or fake?

“…Auto-antibodies profile, including anti-topoisomerase antibody I (Scl 70), anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-centromere antibodies (ACA), has been reported to be associated with low hormone levels by Vacca et al, but following reports in the same findings failed [9][10][11]; [13][14][15][16][17]. Lately, Carmel et al reported no correlation between antivitamin D antibodies and some clinical features [18].…”

“…Although Arnson et al enrolled the most large patients group, demographic and clinical data was incomplete [10]. Other limitations due to mixed participants (Italian and French) were presented by Vacca et al [14].…”

“…Not surprisingly, the association with pulmonary and gastrointestinal tests have been greatly sought, but inconsistent data have been provided [9,11,13,14,16]; [24][25][26].…”

“…Lately, Carmel et al reported no correlation between antivitamin D antibodies and some clinical features [18]. Acute-phase reactant including C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) were extensively investigated in some studies reviewed [11][12][13][14]. Serum calcium, phosphate and bone turnover metabolism were mostly measured in those papers having BMD or parathyroid hormone (PTH) determination in their study protocol [19][20][21].…”

“…About supplementary intake many data suggests vitamin D supplementation not to protect against deficiency [14,42,43] in SSc patients; however, it remains harmless and inexpensive to administer it.…”