Vitamin D in autoimmune rheumatic diseases: A view inside gender differences

Increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…However, it was difficult to conclude whether there is a definite correlation between serum 25(OH)D levels and the severity of AA (extent of hair loss). There have been several reports on the association between vitamin D deficiency and different autoimmune disorders, including AA . Moreover, patients with AA have been found to be more prone to other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases compared to the normal population .…”

“…Nevertheless, there have been reports of the differences in the risks for onset of various systemic diseases . Particularly, the patients with several autoimmune disorders have been reported to have decreased serum vitamin D levels …”

The Role of Vitamin D in the Immune System as a Pro-survival Molecule

“…The relationship between vitamin D-associated function and T-reg cells is a fundamental hallmark of autoimmune disease, in which vitamin D plays a major role. [141][142][143] Enhancement of CD4 þ CD25 þ Foxp3 þ T-reg cells occurs if following a long treatment with vitamin D supplementation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, leading to an increase in the Th2-type immune response. 144 Deficiency in vitamin D status leads to impairment of many T-reg cellmediated functions; for example, in the naive T-reg cell (ie, CD4 þ CD45RA þ Foxp3 low T cell subset).…”

“…The involvement of vitamin D in autoimmune diseases has been particularly debated, 141,147,148 involving concurrent causes such as sex 142,149 and steroid hormones. 150 Its immunomodulatory role might act on the NK cell levels and the Th1/Th2 ratio to control autoimmunity.…”

Vitamin D supplementation and disease activity in patients with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases

“…[10] Such discoveries have led to new research on fields that are not only related to bone metabolism [11] but also to the finding of new functions for vitamin D. [2] Pleiotropic actions of vitamin D on the immune system were described [11–14] and are of particular interest to this study because immune cells and cytokines participate directly in the pathobiology and activity of immune-mediated rheumatic diseases.…”