Serum Vitamin D levels in patients with chronic urticaria and its comparison with healthy individuals in Isfahan City, Iran

Abstract

Background: Urticaria is an inflammatory skin disorder lasting for six weeks or longer. Nowadays, the role of vitamin D in inflammatory disease such as urticaria is a matter of great interest. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D and chronic urticaria. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 patients with chronic urticaria and 40 healthy individuals aged 18 to 60 years were studied during the years 2017-2018 in Alzahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran. In all cases, vitamin D levels were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 20 ng/ml were considered as deficiency and levels of 20-30 ng/ml were considered as insufficiency. Data were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. Findings: The mean serum vitamin D level was 21.6 ng/ml in the patients group and 30.8 ng/ml in the control group. In the patient group 42.5, and in the control group 22.5, had vitamin D level of less than 20 ng/ml, and in the patient group 42.5, and in the control group 25, had vitamin D level of between 20-30 ng/ml. Therefore, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in patients and in the control group was 85 and 47.5, respectively. Conclusion: This study shows that vitamin D deficiency is more common in people with chronic urticaria than in normal population. However, finding a cause-and-effect relationship between chronic urticaria and vitamin D requires more extensive studies. © 2020 Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.