Vitamin D deficiency is associated with digital ulcer but not with atherosclerosis or arterial stiffness in patients with systemic sclerosis: a pilot study

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Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the association of vitamin D deficiency with digital ulcers (DUs) that result from microvasculopathy, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) as surrogate markers of atherosclerosis, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) representing arterial stiffness in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). In this cross-sectional study, 40 female SSc patients and 80 healthy controls matched for sex, age, and blood sampling season were recruited. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25-OHD levels p = 0.012), but the median CIMT and baPWV and the frequency of carotid plaque did not differ according to the presence of vitamin D deficiency. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that vitamin D deficiency was an independent risk factor for DUs ever (OR = 7.72, p = 0.024). Vitamin D deficiency was associated with DUs, but not with atherosclerosis or arterial stiffness, potentially indicating that vitamin D may have different effects on the microvascular and macrovascular involvement in SSc pathophysiology.
Funding Information
  • This work was supported by clinical research grant from Pusan National University Hospital in 2017.

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