Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2011 Feb 21;17(7):922-5.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i7.922.

Vitamin D deficiency in cirrhosis relates to liver dysfunction rather than aetiology

Mikkel Malham  1 , Søren Peter Jørgensen, Peter Ott, Jørgen Agnholt, Hendrik Vilstrup, Mette Borre, Jens F Dahlerup
Affiliations
Case Reports

Vitamin D deficiency in cirrhosis relates to liver dysfunction rather than aetiology

Mikkel Malham et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To examine the vitamin D status in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis compared to those with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Methods: Our retrospective case series comprised 89 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 34 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who visited our outpatient clinic in 2005 and underwent a serum vitamin D status assessment.

Results: Among the patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, 85% had serum vitamin D levels below 50 nmol/L and 55% had levels below 25 nmol/L, as compared to 60% and 16% of the patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, respectively (P < 0.001). In both groups, serum vitamin D levels decreased with increasing liver disease severity, as determined by the Child-Pugh score.

Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency in cirrhosis relates to liver dysfunction rather than aetiology, with lower levels of vitamin D in alcoholic cirrhosis than in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Keywords: Alcoholic liver cirrhosis; Child-Pugh score; Primary biliary cirrhosis; Vitamin D deficiency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vitamin D levels in the study group. Vitamin D levels in 37 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and 89 patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis demonstrated significantly lower overall vitamin D levels in comparison to patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (P < 0.0001, Mann-Whitney U test). PBC: Primary biliary cirrhosis; ALC: Alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ormarsdóttir S, Ljunggren O, Mallmin H, Michaëlsson K, Lööf L. Increased rate of bone loss at the femoral neck in patients with chronic liver disease. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2002;14:43–48. - PubMed
    1. Sorensen HT, Friis S, Olsen JH, Thulstrup AM, Mellemkjaer L, Linet M, Trichopoulos D, Vilstrup H, Olsen J. Risk of liver and other types of cancer in patients with cirrhosis: a nationwide cohort study in Denmark. Hepatology. 1998;28:921–925. - PubMed
    1. Wasmuth HE, Kunz D, Yagmur E, Timmer-Stranghöner A, Vidacek D, Siewert E, Bach J, Geier A, Purucker EA, Gressner AM, et al. Patients with acute on chronic liver failure display "sepsis-like" immune paralysis. J Hepatol. 2005;42:195–201. - PubMed
    1. Glerup H, Mikkelsen K, Poulsen L, Hass E, Overbeck S, Andersen H, Charles P, Eriksen EF. Hypovitaminosis D myopathy without biochemical signs of osteomalacic bone involvement. Calcif Tissue Int. 2000;66:419–424. - PubMed
    1. Holick MF. Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80:1678S–1688S. - PubMed

MeSH terms