Tuberculosis – perhaps all forms are associated with low vitamin D

The association between vitamin D deficiency and extrapulmonary tuberculosis: Case-control study

Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2020 Dec 1;126:102034. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2020.102034

Fatma Hammami 1, Makram Koubaa 2, Yosra Mejdoub 3, Mouna Turki 4, Houda Ben Ayed 5, Amal Chakroun 6, Khaoula Rekik 6, Fatma Smaoui 6, Mounir Ben Jemaa 6

* * Tuberculosis category listing has items along with related searches** see also Overview Tuberculosis and Vitamin D      Breathing category --- 1. # Items in both categories TB and Vitamin D Receptor gene: {category} The risk of 44 diseases at least double with poor Vitamin D Receptor as of Oct 2019 * Omega-3,  Magnesium, Zinc,  Quercetin,  non-daily Vit D,  Curcumin, intense exercise,   Ginger,   Essential oils, etc**  Note: The founder of VitaminDWiki uses 10 of the 12 known VDR activators Very few medical professionals are aware of the fact that a poor Vitamin D Receptor will limit how much of vitamin D in the blood can get into the cells. --- 1. # Items in both categories TB and Meta-analysis: {category} About half of TB occurs outside of the lungs from a 2014 study of TB

Tuberculosis remains a public health issue worldwide. Identifying its risk factors, such as vitamin D deficiency, is mandatory so as to target the preventive strategies. We aimed to study the association between vitamin D deficiency and extrapulmonary tuberculosis. We conducted a case-control study including all cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis hospitalized in the infectious diseases department over a two-year period from April 2017 until April 2019. We included 45 cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and 45 controls matched by gender and age.

Vitamin D deficiency was significantly more frequent among cases (80% vs 37.7%; p < 0.001), with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.5 (IC95% = 2.5-16). The mean levels of vitamin D were significantly lower among cases (11.9 ± 8.8 vs 22.3 ± 11 ng/mL; p < 0.001).

In the multivariate analysis, we found that vitamin D deficiency was an independent predictor of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (OR = 6.13 ; p < 0.001). The cutoff value of vitamin D predictor of extrapulmonary tuberculosis was 18.5 ng/mL which was associated with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 62%. Our study provides strong evidence that vitamin D deficiency was an independent predictor of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. More studies are needed in order to evaluate the potential preventive role of vitamin D and the benefit of possible supplementation.