Background: Patients with sickle cell disease in the USA have been noted to have lower levels of vitamin\nD ââ?¬â?? measured as 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) ââ?¬â?? compared to controls. Average serum 25(OH)D levels are\nalso substantially lower in African Americans than whites, while population distributions of 25(OH)D among\nJamaicans of African descent and West Africans are the same as among USA whites. The purpose of this\nstudy was to examine whether adult patients with sickle cell disease living in tropical regions had reduced\n25(OH)D relative to the general population.\nMethods: We analyzed serum 25(OH)D in stored samples collected from studies in Jamaica and West Africa\nof adult patients with sickle cell disease and adult population controls.\nResults: In samples of 20 Jamaicans and 50 West Africans with sickle cell disease mean values of 25(OH)D\nwere 37% and 39% lower than controls, respectively. Metabolic abnormalities in the absorption and conversion\npathways are possible causes for the consistent relative deficiency of 25(OH)D in sickle cell disease.\nConclusions: Low 25(OH)D levels in tropical Africa where the burden of sickle cell disease is highest, deserve further\ninvestigation, and a randomized trial is warranted to address efficacy of supplementation.
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