Lupus summary of VitaminDWiki by Perplexity AI - Feb 2026

Question to Perplexity

Use only VitaminDWiki.com for this question: What is the importance of Vitamin D for lupus? Provide 10-15 bullet answers and include the exact VitaminDWiki URLs you relied on.

Perplexity Answer

Vitamin D matters for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) because lupus is frequently linked with low vitamin D status, and VitaminDWiki summarizes evidence that correcting low levels may help immune regulation, inflammation markers, and (in some contexts) treatment intensity.

10–15 key points (VitaminDWiki-based)

Vitamin D has immunomodulatory effects relevant to autoimmune disease, acting through immune effector cells (e.g., monocytes/macrophages, T and B lymphocytes, NK cells) that are central to SLE biology.
VitaminDWiki notes that SLE patients “tend to have low vitamin D status,” making vitamin D status clinically relevant in lupus care and monitoring.
Because SLE treatment often relies on corticosteroids, VitaminDWiki highlights the idea that vitamin D supplementation may help reduce corticosteroid dose and/or attenuate disease severity (as discussed in the cited review excerpt on the Lupus page).
From a clinical viewpoint summarized on VitaminDWiki, it is “highly recommended” that all SLE patients have serum 25(OH)D checked, and that those with low status start supplemental vitamin D3.
VitaminDWiki’s Lupus page excerpt states a target of maintaining serum 25(OH)D around 30–40 ng/mL to better control disease activity and reduce corticosteroid (and likely DMARD) dosage.
VitaminDWiki lists SLE-specific reasons vitamin D can run low: sunlight avoidance due to photosensitivity, potential suppression of VDR by disease and/or corticosteroids, and effects of DMARDs such as hydroxychloroquine.
VitaminDWiki emphasizes that interpreting vitamin D–SLE relationships is complicated by confounders (e.g., BMI, renal function, and medications), which affects how strongly vitamin D levels track with lupus outcomes.
VitaminDWiki notes that vitamin D2 supplementation may not raise blood 25(OH)D as much as comparable vitamin D3, which is relevant when choosing a form for repletion in people with SLE.
In a cross-sectional study summarized on VitaminDWiki, 25(OH)D insufficiency (defined as <30 ng/mL) was more prevalent in SLE patients (55%) than in controls (8%).
In that same VitaminDWiki summary, SLE patients with insufficient 25(OH)D had higher IL-6 (an inflammatory marker), linking low vitamin D status with higher inflammatory activity markers.
The VitaminDWiki summary also reports that insufficient 25(OH)D in SLE was associated with a higher prevalence of hematuria (blood in urine) on urinary sediment evaluation.
VitaminDWiki also notes that in this particular study there was no correlation between vitamin D and SLEDAI (disease activity index) or lupus nephritis, underscoring that “importance” may vary by outcome and study design.

Exact VitaminDWiki URLs used

https://vitamindwiki.com/pages/lupus/
https://vitamindwiki.com/pages/lupus-is-yet-again-strongly-associated-with-low-vitamin-d-when-will-supplementation-be-tried/