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High proportion of individuals with IBS have vitamin D deficiency, may benefit from supplementation
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A majority of individuals with irritable bowel syndrome have low concentrations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, which are positively associated with quality of life, according to recent study results.
“Our work has shown that most IBS sufferers in our trial had insufficient levels of vitamin D,” Bernard Corfe, PhD, from the University of Sheffield’s molecular gastroenterology research group in the UK, said in a press release. “Furthermore, there was an association between vitamin D status and the sufferer’s perceived quality of life, measured by the extent to which they reported impact on IBS on life.”
Corfe and colleagues performed a pilot, double-blind, parallel design trial in which IBS patients recruited at a single hospital between January and April 2014 were randomly assigned to receive 3,000 IU vitamin D3 (n = 16), placebo (n = 17), or a combination of vitamin D and probiotics (n = 18) once per day for 12 weeks. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (250HD) levels were measured at baseline, and patients were further stratified based on vitamin D status. Patients also completed food frequency and IBS symptom questionnaires throughout the study period, and a final serum 250HD test at the end of the study period.
Only 18.5% of the placebo group, 22.2% of the vitamin D3 group and 25% of the vitamin D3 plus probiotics group were considered vitamin D-sufficient at baseline (250HD > 20 ng/mL), and patients with baseline vitamin D-deficiency reported that their IBS symptoms had a greater impact on their quality of life compared with vitamin-D sufficient patients (P = .034). At the end of the study period, 60% of the placebo group, 92.3% of the vitamin D3 group and 87.5% of the vitamin D3 plus probiotics group were vitamin-D sufficient.
The vitamin D3 and vitamin D3 plus probiotics groups had significantly higher mean 250HD levels at follow-up vs. baseline (15.8 ± 8 vs. 37.2 ± 9.3 ng/mL and 14.9 ± 8.4 vs. 37.1 ± 11.7 ng/mL, respectively; P < .001) and compared with the placebo group at the end of the study period (25.3 ± 8 ng/mL; P = .008 and P = .005, respectively). Symptom scores appeared to improve in all groups, but they did not reach statistical significance.
“Our data provide a potential new insight into the condition and importantly a new way to try to manage it,” Corfe said in the press release. “It was clear from our findings that many people with IBS should have their vitamin D levels tested, and the data suggests that they may benefit from supplementation with vitamin D. As a result of this exploratory study, we're now able to design and justify a larger and more definitive clinical trial.” – by Adam Leitenberger
Disclosures: Two of the researchers report they are employees of Cultech, which funded the study.
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