IBD patients often have low vitamin D levels, causing higher morbidity: 5 insights

Low vitamin D levels are common in inflammatory bowel disease patients and are associated with higher morbidity and disease severity, according to a study recently published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

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Here are five insights:

1. A total of 965 IBD patients — 61.9 percent suffered from Crohn’s disease and 38.1 percent from ulcerative colitis — formed the study population

2. Researchers included IBD patients with up to five-year follow-up from a longitudinal IBD natural history registry in the study.

2. Among the 965 IBD patients, 29.9 percent had low mean vitamin D levels.

3. Over the five-year study period, subjects with low mean vitamin D required significantly more steroids, biologics, narcotics, computed tomography scans, emergency department visits, hospital admissions and surgery compared with patients who had normal mean vitamin D levels.

4. Subjects with low vitamin D levels had worse pain, disease activity scores and quality of life.

5. Patients who received vitamin D supplements had a significant reduction in their healthcare utilization rates.

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