Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Active Tuberculosis

Seasonal declines in mean vitamin D levels were followed by seasonal increases in TB notifications.

Extended sun exposure was a major component of the pre-antibiotic era treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in sanitariums, based on Nobel Prize–winning work showing that cutaneous TB responds to light therapy. Now, a cross-sectional study in Cape Town, South Africa, once again points to a role for vitamin D in TB.

Investigators measured vitamin D levels in 370 adults with latent or active TB between April 2005 and January 2010; about half of the participants were HIV positive. Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent, with 63% of the study population having serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels <50 nmol/L. Patients with active TB had significantly lower mean vitamin D levels than those with latent TB, with the association appearing even stronger for H…

Reviewing Author

Richard T. Ellison III, MD

Disclosures

Consult/Advisory BoardAcurx Pharmaceuticals, LLC;

Grant/Research SupportDoctors Company Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Richard T. Ellison III, MD

Disclosures

Consult/Advisory BoardAcurx Pharmaceuticals, LLC;

Grant/Research SupportDoctors Company Foundation, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Active Tuberculosis

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Reviewing Author