Vitamin D Deficiency is Associated With Elevated Blood Concentrations of Ethylene Oxide

Abstract

Ethylene oxide has been associated with increased oxidative stress and related disorders in recent studies, while vitamin D is a widely recognized antioxidant. Whether vitamin D deficiency is related to elevated blood concentrations of ethylene oxide is still unknown. We aimed to explore the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and blood concentrations of ethylene oxide in the general population. A total of 4125 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013–2016 were analyzed. Participants were divided into 3 groups: vitamin D sufficiency (≥75.0 nmol/L), insufficiency (50–74.9 nmol/L), and deficiency (<50.0 nmol/L). Adjusted linear and restricted cubic spline regression models were performed to evaluate the associations between vitamin D levels and blood concentrations of ethylene oxide. Compared with participants with vitamin D sufficiency, the adjusted mean ethylene oxide level was approximately 0.08 and 0.23 log2-units higher in the presence of vitamin D insufficiency and vitamin D deficiency (P for trend <0.001). The adjusted percent difference with a 95% confidence interval in ethylene oxide per interquartile range increase in vitamin D was -1.13 (-1.68, -0.57). A restricted cubic spline model demonstrated that vitamin D levels are nonlinearly and inversely associated with blood concentrations of ethylene oxide (P for nonlinearity =0.021). Further research is warranted to understand how vitamin D may have a role in reducing blood concentrations of ethylene oxide.