Higher Vitamin D Levels Cut Bowel Resection Risk With IBD

WEDNESDAY, April 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- An increased serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) is independently associated with a lower risk for bowel resection with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study published online March 25 in the International Journal of Surgery.

Lintao Dan, from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China, and colleagues examined the association between serum vitamin D levels and the risk for bowel resection in individuals with IBD. The analysis included 5,474 individuals with IBD followed for a mean 13.1 years.

The researchers found that compared with participants with vitamin D deficiency, nondeficient participants showed a significantly reduced bowel resection risk in IBD (hazard ratio [HR], 0.72), Crohn disease (CD; HR, 0.74), and ulcerative colitis (UC; HR, 0.73). For the highest versus lowest quintiles of 25(OH)D level, there was a 34 percent reduced risk for bowel resection with IBD and a 46 percent reduced risk with UC; these findings were statistically significant. However, there were no significant associations for risk for bowel resection in CD. Linear dose-response associations were seen using the restricted cubic spline curve.

"Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for bowel resection in individuals with IBD, and may be an effective metric in predicting and risk-screening surgical events," the authors write.

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