A descriptive cross-sectional study of the prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency and association with bone markers in a hospitalized population.

Patients with gastrointestinal disease may be in particular risk of hypovitaminosis D because of reduced intestinal uptake or metabolism in the liver. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in several groups of patients with various gastroenterologic diseases compared with patients without any chronic disease. We tested the hypothesis that persons with a gastrointestinal disease are at higher risk of hypovitaminosis D than persons with no chronic disease and whether this group needs special attention regarding their nutrition. We included patients admitted to our department of gastroenterology. The concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D2+D3) was defined as insufficient when less than 50 nmol/L, deficient when less than 25 nmol/L, and severely deficient when less than 12.5 nmol/L. We included 146 patients with a mean age of 55 years (range, 16-93 years). 25(OH)D was sufficient in 47%, insufficient in 29%, deficient in 12%, and severely deficient in 11% of the population. Participants without chronic disease had a significantly higher mean level of 25(OH)D (57 nmol/L) compared to participants with cirrhosis (15 nmol/L, P = .002) and alcoholism (31 nmol/L, P = .003). A linear relationship between 25(OH)D and alkaline phosphatase could be demonstrated (Spearman rho, -0.299; P < .001). Participants with severe 25(OH)D deficiency had higher levels of total alkaline phosphatase (149.5 vs 76 U/L, P = .001) and parathyroid hormone (5.1 vs 2.8 pmol/L; P = .001). We recommend measuring the level of 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone in patients with chronic diseases, especially alcoholism and cirrhosis.