Vitamin D and diabetic foot ulcer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to evaluate the association between vitamin D deficiency and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in patients with diabetes. Pubmed, EMBASE, BIOSIS, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Knowledge, last updated in July 2018, were searched. We assessed eligible studies for the association between vitamin D deficiency and DFU in diabetic patients. The mean difference (MD) or the odds ratio (OR) was calculated for continuous or dichotomous data respectively. Data were analyzed by using the Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 5.0 software. Seven studies that involved 1115 patients were included in this study. There were significantly reduced vitamin D levels in DFU (MD −13.47 nmol/L, 95%CI −16.84 to −10.10; P = 0.34, I(2) = 12%). Severe vitamin D deficiency was significantly associated with an increased risk of DFU (OR 3.22, 95%CI 2.42−4.28; P = 0.64, I(2) = 0%). This is the first meta-analysis demonstrating the association between serum vitamin D levels and DFU. Severe vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with an increased risk of DFU.