Sunday, May 10, 2009

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased mortality

A recent letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine emphasized the importance of treating Vitamin D deficiency in acute as well as chronic illness. Dr. Paul Lee and others followed a group of 42 patients in the ICU of St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia over the course of a year.

When testing the "serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D" in 42 "referred patients", the mean was 41±22 nmol per liter (16±9 ng per milliliter). 45% were deficient in Vitamin D. The Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II) "in patients with sufficient, insufficient, and deficient levels of vitamin D were 34±11, 45±13, and 51±13, with predicted mortality rates of 16%, 35%, and 45%, respectively."

The current study involving patients in the ICU reveals a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D that was associated with adverse outcomes, independently of hypocalcemia and hypoalbuminemia.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased mortality. This study cannot establish causality between hypovitaminosis D and adverse outcomes.

In a press release, Dr. Lee said, "There may be a bias, in that all patients were referred to endocrinology, so the numbers may not reflect the prevalence in a standard ICU cohort. However 45% is still a significant proportion. ...when we are very sick, the "sick organs" draw upon any vitamin D available to function properly, therefore we may need extra Vitamin D to maintain organ function during critical illness. However, at this stage, we don't know whether Vitamin D deficiency is just a marker of ill health, or whether it contributes to disease severity."



Lee p, Eisman JA, Center JR (2009). Vitamin D Deficiency i Critically Ill Patient New England Journal of Medicine, 360 PMID: 19403914

4 comments:

  1. Hi R. I'm vit d deficient now. I can't seem to access the article. Can you post a pdf of article or email it to me? I just subscribed to your blog so you have my email address.

    Glad to see you still belong out so many with all of your information and articles. It is very much appreciated!
    MelissaTX

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad to see you still belong out so many with all of your information and articles.

    Acai Berry
    Colon Cleanse

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really enjoyed reading this about vitamin d. This is very interesting and shocking news.

    ReplyDelete

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