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
. 2012 Nov;50(11):812-6.
doi: 10.1038/sc.2012.67. Epub 2012 Jun 19.

Serum 25(OH)D, PTH and correlates of suboptimal 25(OH)D levels in persons with chronic spinal cord injury

K Hummel  1 , B C Craven, L Giangregorio
Affiliations

Serum 25(OH)D, PTH and correlates of suboptimal 25(OH)D levels in persons with chronic spinal cord injury

K Hummel et al. Spinal Cord. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Study design: Cross-sectional cohort study. To describe: (1) the prevalence of suboptimal 25-hydroxyvitamin D status (serum 25(OH)D <75 nmol l(-1)) and to identify correlates of vitamin D deficiency; (2) the prevalence of secondary hyperparathyroidism (serum intact parathyroid hormone (PTH)>7.0 pmol l(-1)); and (3) the relationships between serum PTH and 25(OH)D in adult men and women with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: Outpatient services, including an osteoporosis clinic at a tertiary spinal cord rehabilitation hospital in Ontario.

Methods: Serum levels of 25(OH)D and intact PTH were acquired at enrollment. Clinical correlates of suboptimal vitamin D status were collected via interview and chart abstraction, and identified by univariate logistic regression analysis. Pearson correlations were run to assess the relationships between serum PTH and 25(OH)D. Significance was P<0.05.

Results: Thirty-nine percent of the cohort, comprised of 62 adult men and women with chronic SCI, had suboptimal serum 25(OH)D levels. Factors associated with suboptimal vitamin D levels included having vitamin D assessed in the winter months (odds ratio (OR)=7.38, P=0.001), lack of a calcium supplement (OR=7.19, P=0.003), lack of a vitamin D supplement (OR=7.41, P=0.019), younger age (OR=0.932, P=0.010), paraplegia (OR=4.22, P=0.016), and lack of bisphosphonate (OR=3.85, P=0.015). Significant associations were observed between serum PTH and 25(OH)D (r=-0.304, P=0.032) and between PTH and C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I) (r=0.308, P=0.025). Disruption of the vitamin D-PTH axis may contribute to the bone loss seen in the chronic SCI population. The threshold for optimal serum 25(OH)D levels in the chronic SCI population may be higher than in the non-SCI population. Serum 25(OH)D level are likely important risk factors contributing to declining bone mass and increased fracture risk post-SCI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between serum intact PTH (pmol/L) and 25(OH)D (nmol/L) (r=−0.304, p=0.032).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation between serum intact PTH (pmol/L) and C-telopeptide (ng/L) (r=0.308, p=0.025).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Canada O. Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis [Fact Sheet] Toronto: 2008. updated March 2008; cited 2011 October 26, 2011; Available from: http://www.osteoporosis.ca/index.php/ci_id/7037/la_id/1.htm.
    1. Craven BC, Robertson LA, McGillivray CF, Adachi JD. Detection and Treatment of Sublesional Osteoporosis Among Patients with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2009;14(4):1.
    1. Shojaei H, Soroush MR, Modirian E. Spinal cord injury-induced osteoporosis in veterans. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2006 Apr;19(2):114–7. - PubMed
    1. Lazo MG, Shirazi P, Sam M, Giobbie-Hurder A, Blacconiere MJ, Muppidi M. Osteoporosis and risk of fracture in men with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2001 Apr;39(4):208–14. - PubMed
    1. Vestergaard P, Krogh K, Rejnmark L, Mosekilde L. Fracture rates and risk factors for fractures in patients with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 1998 Nov;36(11):790–6. - PubMed

Publication types