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Oral steroids linked to severe vitamin D deficiency in nationwide study
Skversky AL. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;doi:10.1210/jc.2011-1600.
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Those taking steroids are twice as likely as the general population to have severe vitamin D deficiency, researchers reported in a new study.
Severe vitamin D deficiency, defined as levels of less than 10 ng/mL in this study, has been associated with osteomalacia, rickets and clinical myopathy. Steroid use has been linked to vitamin D deficiency, possibly by increasing levels of an enzyme that activates the vitamin, according to researchers in New York.
The researchers examined this association using data from more than 22,000 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2006. About 1% of participants answered “yes” when asked if they had used steroids during the past 30 days.
Overall, 5% of the study population had vitamin D levels of less than 10 ng/mL. Eleven percent of the steroid users had vitamin D levels less than 10 ng/mL compared with 5% of nonusers (P=.009). The researchers calculated a twofold increased risk for severe vitamin D deficiency in those who reported steroid use vs. those who did not use steroids (OR=2.36; 95% CI, 1.25-4.45). Steroid users aged younger than 18 years had the greatest risk and were 14 times more likely to have severe vitamin D deficiency when compared with young nonusers.
“This current study indicates that steroid use is associated with severe [25-hydroxyvitamin D] deficiency. Therefore, it is prudent that we address the issue of vitamin D deficiency in the general population, but even more so in those who use glucocorticoids and are, therefore, at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency and its possible sequelae,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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