Vitamin D level in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: its relationship to disease course and bone mineral density

OBJECTIVE: To determine vitamin D levels in patients with SLE and evaluate their relationship to bone mineral density (BMD) and the disease course. METHODS: The study included 101 patients with SLE and 29 individuals in the control group. The study participants were tested for vitamin D level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, osteocalcin (OC) and collagen type I C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), and the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was provided to assess BMD in the lumbar spine and the hip. RESULTS: The mean serum vitamin D level was 18.98±0.88 ng/mL, and women had 25.42% lower vitamin D levels than men (p<0.05). There was no correlation between vitamin D levels and patient’s age or disease course. There was a significant inverse correlation between vitamin D levels and cumulative dose of glucocorticoids (r=−0.26) and serum inflammatory markers, particularly CRP (r=−0.39), IL-6 (r=−0.37) and ESR (r=−0.15). Vitamin D level was associated with the bone turnover markers (BTMs). In women of reproductive age with vitamin D deficiency, BMD of the lumbar spine and the hip was 9.5–23.1% higher than in those with no vitamin deficiency, respectively, and the mean lumbar spine Z-score in women of reproductive age with vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was significantly 2.0 and 2.9 times lower than in patients with normal vitamin D level. CONCLUSIONS: Hypovitaminosis D is quite common in patients with SLE and is associated with high inflammatory activity (SLE Disease Activity Index, ESR, CRP, IL-6), severity of organ damage (Damage Index), cumulative dose of glucocorticoids, BTM changes (decrease in OC, increase in CTX) and BMD decline. Vitamin D status was not associated with the patient’s age or disease course.