Vitamin D supplemens may improve inflammation in Irritable bowel disease: Study

Irritable bowel disease (IBD) is one of the most commonly presented by chronic abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating, and alteration of bowel habits without any organic cause. There has not yet been found any effective cure for IBS. There is a very few evidence that Vitamin D supplementation may be beneficial for patients with IBD.

Researchers in a recent study assessed the effects on the efficacy of vedolizumab therapy in a cohort of patients with IBD. The study is published in Nutrients journal reports higher pre-treatment vitamin D levels showed significant endoscopic improvement in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) also improving vitamin D levels lowered C-reactive protein levels significantly in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study on patients between 18 and 80 years of age with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD). They investigated factors prior to the initiation of therapy that best predicted treatment response, with an emphasis on vitamin D levels and examined several variables including patients’ demographics and clinical information on disease location and severity and nutritional status before and after the initiation of vedolizumab. Post-treatment data were gathered after a minimum of 6 months of vedolizumab therapy. The clinical parameters used for the study were the Harvey–Bradshaw Index for CD and the Activity Index for UC.

The key findings of the study are

• A total of 88 patients included in our study of whom 44 had CD and 44 had UC.; median age was 39.5 (31.0, 53.25) years; 34% patients were male; and 80.7% were Caucasian.

• All patients received an induction dosing of 300 mg vedolizumab at 0, 2, and 6 weeks then maintenance dosing as standard of care every 8 weeks.

• Among UC patients with vitamin D ≥ 30 ng/mL at the initiation of vedolizumab therapy, UC Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) scores after 6 months of therapy were significantly lower than in those who had low pre-treatment vitamin D levels (1.5 vs. 3.87, p = 0.037).

• After treatment, vitamin D levels improved more significantly in the higher pre-treatment vitamin D group, with a median level of 56 ng/mL, than in the lower pre-treatment vitamin D group, with a median level of only 31 ng/mL (p = 0.007).

• In patients with CD with vitamin D ≥ 30 ng/mL at the initiation of vedolizumab therapy, we found higher iron saturation (12 vs. 25%, p = 0.008) and higher vitamin B12 levels (433.5 vs. 885 pg/mL, p = 0.003) than in those with vitamin D < 30 ng/mL.

• After treatment, CD patients with high pre-treatment vitamin D levels had significantly higher vedolizumab levels (27.35 vs. 14.35 μg/mL, p = 0.045) than those with low pre-treatment vitamin D.

• Post-treatment scores and inflammatory markers in CD patients (HBI, CRP, ESR, and SES-CD) were lower in those who had lower baseline vitamin D.

“Our results show higher pre-treatment vitamin D levels predicted significant endoscopic improvement in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Improving vitamin D levels lowered C-reactive protein levels significantly in CD patients. Higher vitamin D levels were seen after treatment in both UC and CD patients. Vitamin D can play a role in clinical and endoscopic outcomes and should be assessed routinely and optimized in patients with IBD.” Concluded the researchers.

Reference: Abraham, B.P.; Fan, C.; Thurston, T.; Moskow, J.; Malaty, H.M. The Role of Vitamin D in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated with Vedolizumab. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4847. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15224847.