Biochemical Implications of Vitamin D Deficiency in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

Abstract

The lack of vitamin D is being discovered to play a more central role in the development and progress of chronic inflammatory diseases. In the study, biochemical manifestations of deficiency through the impact on immune modulation, inflammation, and disease progression management have been considered. Three hundred patients with chronic inflammatory diseases-150 with osteoarthritis, 150 with rheumatoid arthritis and the remainder inflammatory bowel disease were recruited into this study for Vitamin D determination alongside inflammatory markers and symptoms. Patients in the study were found to be highly deficient in vitamin D with 78% having vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL and inflammatory markers in these groups were significantly higher ( p < 0.05) than those in patients with vitamin D levels of > 30 ng/mL; specifically, the CRP and IL- 6. Following the administration of 2000 IU/day of vitamin D for 12 weeks, CRP decrease by 30%, and disease symptoms by 25%. These finding would indicate the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency is an exacerbating factor in chronic inflammation and recommends supplementation in lowering inflammatory indicators and enhancing patients’ quality of life. The study points out the need to pay attention to vitamin D deficiency in managing chronic inflammatory diseases, which will call for more research in finding optimal treatment protocols.