Vitamin d in pulmonary tuberculosis patients in relation to disease severity

Introduction: Among specific nutritional factors that may be in deficit without overt malnutrition, Vitamin D is significant and has been associated with active Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB). Previous reports have shown that vitamin D deficient people had higher risk of developing active PTB which in turn also influence disease outcome. Objective: To study Vitamin D status in PTB patients and its correlation to disease severity and sputum positivity. Material and Methods: 120 adult PTB patients and 60 healthy controls were recruited. Sputum positivity was assessed by counting number of Acid Fast Bacilli in sputum microscopically and disease severity by Bandim TB score. After written consent, serum was used for investigating routine and specific test like Vitamin D and Parathyroid Hormone (PTH). Result and Discussion: Serum Proteins, Albumin, Vitamin D and PTH were significantly decreased in PTB patients than controls. Vitamin D correlated moderately to disease severity (r=-0.38) and sputum positivity (r=-0.34) suggesting its role in influencing disease outcome and reactivation of latent infection. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D has specific immunoregulatory function and Its deficiency could enhance disease susceptibility. Supplementation with vitamin D may be beneficial for high risk patients for effective treatment response. Thus, Calcium and its related metabolites including Vitamin D are required to be monitored in PTB due to its influence on disease severity.