Association of Serum Vitamin D Levels with Bacterial Load in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is known to have diverse effects on various systems in the body. There is evidence to suggest that a link exists between the serum vitamin D status and tuberculosis. The present study was designed to assess the alterations in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in newly diagnosed sputum acid fast bacilli (AFB) positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and to study the association, if any, between serum vitamin D levels and different levels of sputum smear positivity. METHODS: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were estimated in 65 sputum AFB positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients and 65 age and gender-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: The levels of serum 25 hydroxy-vitamin D in tuberculosis patients were not statistically different from the levels of serum 25 hydroxy-vitamin D in healthy controls. However, among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, there was a significant negative correlation between the levels of serum 25 hydroxy-vitamin D and levels of sputum positivity. CONCLUSION: Serum vitamin D levels negatively correlates with bacterial load in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis.