Low Vitamin D Levels Are Associated With the Development of Deep Venous Thromboembolic Events in Patients With Ischemic Stroke

The objective is to determine whether a low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level is associated with an increased incidence of deep venous thromboembolic events in patients with ischemic stroke. One hundred eighty persons admitted consecutively for inpatient rehabilitation at the Department of Rehabilitation of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke from January 2015 to December 2015 were enrolled. The following demographic data were collected: age, sex, body mass index, and history of risk factors. The levels of 25(OH)D and the presence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) by routine duplex imaging were also recorded. The value of 25(OH)D needed to predict DVT was analyzed using logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for the possible confounders. We found that 80% of patients admitted to the acute inpatient rehabilitation unit had low levels of vitamin D. Forty-seven patients had DVT, and the incidence of DVT was 26.1% within 3 weeks after the stroke event. With all patients taken together, DVT occurrence as a dependent variable with the sufficient group as the reference used for vitamin D levels in the logistic analysis, deficiency of vitamin D was independently associated with the development of DVT (odds ratio = 4.683, 95% confidence interval: 1.396-15.703, P = .012). In conclusion, low serum 25(OH)D levels were independent predictors of DVT in patients with ischemic stroke during inpatient rehabilitation stay in China. This finding reveals the critical role played by 25(OH)D in the pathogenesis of DVT.