Background: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a generalized and systemic autoimmune disease that affects the connective tissue of the skin and internal organs, especially kidneys, heart and lungs [1].

Objectives: Numerous data from recent literature confirm the regulatory action of vitamin D on the immune system and, therefore, how a deficit of this micronutrient can lead to alterations in the immune response, as is known to happen in many allergic and autoimmune diseases [2]. We studied the association between vitamin D levels and SSc, evaluating their correlation with the characteristic manifestations of the pathology.

Methods: We dosed the serum levels of 25 hydroxy-vitamin D in 42 patients with SSc (average age 64.63 +/-7.33) and 40 healthy controls comparable for sex and age. The diagnosis of SSc was formulated in accordance to 2013 ACR/EULAR criteria. None of the subjects involved in the study took vitamin D products.

Results: Patients’ vitamin D levels (26.22+/-9.82 ng/ml), although they tended to be lower than controls (27.80 +/- 16.53 ng/ml), showed no significant decrease. In patients with pulmonary fibrosis, vitamin D levels were 23.28 +/- 12.30 lower than in patients with trophic ulcers and compared to patients without complications 26.07 +/- 9.92, although with not statistically significant values. No statistically significant difference was found between vitamin D levels in patients with trophic ulcers compared to controls without complications.

Conclusion: According to the studies in the literature, in our sample, vitamin D deficiency was therefore greater in patients with SSc, especially with pulmonary fibrosis, than in controls [3,4]. Vitamin D levels in diffused-type SSc patients were significantly lower than those in limited-type SSc patients. Further studies are needed to clarify the role that vitamin D deficiency plays in SSc, but lower vitamin D levels in these patients may suggest the need to monitor blood levels of vitamin D and supplement it appropriately.

REFERENCES:

[1]De Martinis M, Ciccarelli F, Sirufo MM, Ginaldi L. An overview of environmental risk factors in systemic sclerosis. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2016;12(4):465-78. doi: 10.1586/1744666X.2016.1125782. Epub 2015 Dec 19. PMID: 26610037.

[2]Yang, CY., Leung, P.S.C., Adamopoulos, I.E. et al. The Implication of Vitamin D and Autoimmunity: a Comprehensive Review. Clinic Rev Allerg Immunol 45, 217–226 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12016-013-8361-3 .

[3]Trombetta AC, SmithV, Gotelli E, Ghio M, Paolino S, Pizzorni C, et al. (2017) Vitamin D deficiency and clinical correlationsin systemic sclerosis patients: A retrospective analysis for possible future developments. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179062. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal . pone.0179062.

[4]Sarita Gupta, Vikram K. Mahajan, Rajinder S. Yadav1, Karaninder S. Mehta, Satya Bhushan1, et al. Evaluation of Serum Vitamin D Levels in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: Results of a Pilot Study Article July 2018 DOI: 10.4103/idoj.IDOJ_328_17.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared