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. 2012 Apr;31(4):465-73.
doi: 10.1007/s10096-011-1331-x. Epub 2011 Aug 3.

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage is associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, gender and smoking status. The Tromsø Staph and Skin Study

K Olsen  1 , B M Falch, K Danielsen, M Johannessen, J U Ericson Sollid, I Thune, G Grimnes, R Jorde, G S Simonsen, A-S Furberg
Affiliations

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage is associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, gender and smoking status. The Tromsø Staph and Skin Study

K Olsen et al. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

Vitamin D induces the expression of antimicrobial peptides with activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, we studied the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and S. aureus nasal colonization and carriage. Nasal swabs, blood samples and clinical data from 2,115 women and 1,674 men, aged 30-87 years, were collected in the Tromsø Staph and Skin Study 2007-08, as part of the population-based sixth Tromsø Study. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were stratified by recognized risk factors for S. aureus carriage: sex, age and smoking. In non-smoking men, we observed a 6.6% and 6.7% decrease in the probability of S. aureus colonization and carriage, respectively, by each 5 nmol/l increase in serum 25(OH)D concentration (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001), and serum 25(OH)D > 59 nmol/l and ≥75 nmol/l as thresholds for ~30% and ~50% reduction in S. aureus colonization and carriage. In non-smoking men aged 44-60 years, the odds ratio for S. aureus colonization was 0.44 (95% confidence interval, 0.28-0.69) in the top tertile of serum 25(OH)D versus the bottom tertile. In women and smokers there were no such associations. Our study supports that serum vitamin D is a determinant of S. aureus colonization and carriage.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study population: S. aureus colonization (single nasal swab culture) and S. aureus carriage (repeated nasal swab culture). aParticipants invited; <50 years: all, and ≥50 years: random samples. bAntibiotics taken in the last 24 hours before visit: systemic or eye drops/ointments. cMedian time between repeated nasal swabs was 31 days
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Probability of Staphylococcus aureus colonization and carriage in non-smoking men (n = 1,351 and n = 992), women (n = 1,655 and n = 1,239), and total population (n = 3,006 and n = 2,231), respectively, according to serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level in nmol/l. Lines depict regression line (navy) with 95% mean prediction interval (grey area)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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