Vitamin D Status among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Attending Benghazi Medical Centre Rheumatoid Out-patients Clinic: A Cross-sectional Study
Faiza Nouh
*
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Salima Elfagi
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Mohammed H. Buzgeia
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Mohamed F. Madi
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Ghazalla Farag
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Ebtehal Yousef
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Sondos Abbas
Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the occurrence of autoimmune illnesses such multiple sclerosis and type one diabetes millets. This study aims to evaluate the vitamin D status in RA patients, as well as the link between vitamin D levels and disease activity. The current study is a cross-sectional study carried on rheumatoid arthritis patients who attend Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC) rheumatoid clinic. The sample includes all age groups of RA patients who had a recent serum vitamin D test results giving aresponse rate of 95 %. The study consists of 248 patients, 39 (15.7%) are male and the remaining 209 (84.3%) are female. The overall mean ± standard deviation of age for men and women was in the range of 53 ± 4. 24% of patients had normal vitamin D levels, while 36% and 40% of patients had insufficiency and deficiency in vitamin D, respectively. Gender and marriage status were the only socio-economic factors associated with the subject's vitamin D status (p <0.05). Body mass index was a nutritional factor associated with a subject's vitamin D status (p <0.05) in RA patients. It is recommended that all RA patients have serum vitamin D as routine test.
Keywords: Vitamin D status, rheumatoid arthritis, supplement, nutrition