Associations Between Vitamin D Level and Hospitalizations With and Without an Infection in a National Cohort of Medicare Beneficiaries
Am J Epidemiol (2016) 183 (10): 920-929. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwv306. April 2016
Jordan A. Kempker Matthew J. Magee J. Peter Cegielski Greg S. Martin
- Chance of dying in hospital cut in half by just 10 ng higher level of Vitamin D – April 2016
- How to reduce hospital infections with vitamin D – April 2012
- Sepsis is both prevented and treated by Vitamin D
- Vitamin D prevents infections – Nov 2012
- 1.5X increased infection, sepsis, and death if in ICU with low vitamin D - Meta-analysis Dec 2014
Items in both categories Trauma/Surgery and Immunity are listed here:
- Little risk of infection after surgery if have more than 50 ng of vitamin D - 2014
- Orthopaedic surgeries need Vitamin D – many studies
- The effect of vitamin D on different human cells, with emphasis on burns and ICU – April 2018
- Vitamin D might reduce suture infection when time-released from nano-structure suture – Nov 2017
- Having less than 15 ng of vitamin D increased risk of hospitalization with infection by 2.8 times – April 2016
- Superbug (Clostridium difficile) Infections strongly associated with low vitamin D - many studies
- Vitamin D's potential to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections – May 2012
- Staph infection reduced 50 percent when have more than 30 ng of vitamin D – Aug 2011
- MRSA inpatient cost 2X higher if less than 20 ng vitamin D – June 2011
- 2X more likely to kill superbug in 1 month with adequate level of vitamin D
Research has implicated low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level as a risk factor for infection; however, results have not been consistent. To further determine the nature of this relationship, we conducted a cohort study using Medicare beneficiaries participating in the 2001–2002 and 2003–2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with data individually linked to hospital records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The primary exposure was a 25(OH)D level of <15 ng/mL versus ≥15 ng/mL. The outcomes were a hospitalization with or without an infection within 1 year of participation in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, as determined from the final hospital discharge codes (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification).
Of 1,713 individuals, 348 had a baseline serum 25(OH)D level of <15 ng/mL,
- 77 experienced a hospitalization with an infection, and
- 287 experienced a hospitalization without an infection.
In multivariable analyses, a serum 25(OH)D level of <15 ng/mL was associated with a higher risk of hospitalization with an infection (risk ratio = 2.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.3, 5.9, P < 0.01) but not of hospitalization without an infection (risk ratio = 1.4, 95% confidence interval: 0.9, 2.1, P = 0.1). In this study, we found an association between a serum 25(OH)D concentration of <15 ng/mL and a higher subsequent risk for hospitalization with an infection among Medicare beneficiaries.