Intest Res.  2019 Apr;17(2):210-217. 10.5217/ir.2018.00081.

The effect of vitamin D administration on inflammatory markers in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

• Jun JC
• Yoon H
• Choi YJ
• Shin CM
• Park YS
• Kim N
• Lee DH
• Kim JS

• KMID: 2449962
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2018.00081

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
The exact relationship between vitamin D deficiency and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear. We evaluated the effect of vitamin D3 administration on inflammatory responses and disease severity in patients with IBD.
METHODS
We investigated the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25-(OH)D], C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the partial Mayo score (PMS) in patients with IBD. Vitamin D3 was administered in patients with either vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency and CRP, serum vitamin D levels and PMS were re-examined at 6 months of administration.
RESULTS
In 88 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), a negative correlation was found between serum vitamin D and CRP. In 178 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), serum vitamin D showed no association with CRP or PMS. Serum vitamin D increased from 11.08±3.63 to 22.69±6.11 ng/mL in 29 patients with CD and from 11.45±4.10 to 24.20±6.61 ng/mL in 41 patients with UC who received vitamin D3 treatment (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). In patients with CD, median ΔCRP was -0.24 in the normalized vitamin D group and -0.11 in the non-normalized group (P=0.308). In patients with UC, median ΔCRP was −0.01 in the normalized vitamin D group and 0.06 in the non-normalized group (P=0.359).
CONCLUSIONS
Although a negative correlation was found between serum vitamin D and CRP levels in patients with CD, administration of vitamin D did not improve the CRP level in patients with CD. In patients with UC, serum vitamin D level was unrelated to CRP or PMS.

Keyword

C-reactive protein; Inflammatory bowel disease; Vitamin D deficiency

MeSH Terms

C-Reactive Protein
Calcifediol
Cholecalciferol
Colitis, Ulcerative
Crohn Disease
Humans
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases*
Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D*
Vitamins*
C-Reactive Protein
Calcifediol
Cholecalciferol
Vitamin D
Vitamins

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Flow diagram of patients with CD and UC.

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  Fig. 2. Seasonal variation of 25-(OH) vitamin D in 266 IBD patients. Difference between autumn and spring (P<0.001), between summer and winter (P=0.004), and between autumn and winter (P<0.001).

• 

  Fig. 3. Correlation between 25-(OH) vitamin D and CRP in patients with (A) CD (n=88) or (B) UC (n=178) (CD, P=0.015; UC, P=0.991).

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  Fig. 4. Serum 25-(OH) vitamin D level before and after vitamin D administration in patients with (A) CD (n=29) or (B) UC (n=41) (CD, 11.08±3.63→22.69±6.11 ng/mL, P<0.001; UC, 11.45±4.10→24.20±6.61 ng/mL, P<0.001).

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