Association between vitamin D deficiency and tuberculosis in a Korean population

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 73 - 78
• Main Authors: Hong, J. Y., Kim, S. Y., Chung, K. S., Kim, E. Y., Jung, J. Y., Park, M. S., Kim, Y. S., Kim, S. K., Chang, J., Kang, Y. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris, France International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 01.01.2014; International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
• Subjects: Adult; Antitubercular Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - blood; Chi-Square Distribution; Female; Health Surveys; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Multivariate Analysis; Odds Ratio; Pneumology; Prevalence; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome; Tuberculosis - diagnosis; Tuberculosis - drug therapy; Tuberculosis - epidemiology; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Vitamin D - analogs & derivatives; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency; Vitamin D Deficiency - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - diagnosis; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology; Young Adult; Asia; Korea; Infection; Human; Association; Tuberculosis; Respiratory disease; Nutrition disorder; Bacteriosis; Population; Mycobacterial infection; Nutritional status; TB; vitamin D deficiency
• DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.13.0536
• ISSN: 1027-3719

BACKGROUND: Several in vitro studies have been conducted regarding the immunomodulatory and mycobactericidal roles of vitamin D in tuberculous infection. However, discrepancies exist among epidemiological studies. We compared vitamin D deficiency between patients with tuberculosis (TB) and healthy control subjects and identified risk factors for vitamin D deficiency.METHOD: This was an age- and sex-matched case-control analysis of 94 TB cohort and 282 Korean national survey participants.RESULTS: The median baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) level in the TB group (9.86 ng/ml, IQR 7.19-14.15) was lower than in controls (16.03 ng/ml, IQR 12.38-20.30, P < 0.001). The prevalence of severe vitamin D deficiency was higher in patients with TB (51.1%) than in controls (8.2%, P = 0.001). The median 25(OH)D level increased from 11.40 ng/ml (IQR 7.85-15.73) to 13.18 ng/ml (IQR 10.60-19.71) after treatment completion (P = 0.037). On multivariate analysis, presence of TB and history of TB were independently associated with severe vitamin D deficiency.CONCLUSION: Patients with TB had a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency than control subjects in a Korean population. The median 25(OH)D level increased after TB treatment. Further studies are needed to establish a causal relationship.