Low levels of vitamin D are common in patients with ileal pouches irrespective of pouch inflammation.

BACKGROUND Vitamin D (25(OH) D3) levels in pouch patients are not well defined. AIM To evaluate the frequency and factors associated with low 25(OH) D3 levels in pouch patients with underlying inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS A consecutive of 157 pouch patients was identified from our Pouchitis Registry. A sample of 155 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients without IPAA served as controls. RESULTS The mean age of the cohort was 37.5 ± 14.2 years, with 86 (54.8%) being female. Low 25(OH)D3 levels (<31 ng/mL) were detected in 69.4% of patients (N=109). 34 (21.7%) of the 157 patients examined were 25(OH)D3 deficient (<20 ng/mL). This was higher than the frequency of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in a sample of UC patients without IPAA. Between patients with and without normal 25(OH) D3 levels (>31 ng/mL), no differences were identified in terms of demographic, pouch, and medication variables. A low hemoglobin level was found to be associated with low 25(OH) D3 levels in both univariate (p=0.02) and multivariate analyses (odds ratio [OR]=3.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.41-8.06; p=0.01). Low levels of 25(OH)D3 was not related to markers of pouch inflammation, in particular there was no relation to pouchitis (OR=1.20; 95% CI: 0.41-3.52; p=0.74). CONCLUSION Low 25(OH)D3 level was common in this cohort, irrespective of inflammation of the pouch, possibly suggesting a strategy of routine testing in this population. Anemia was found to be associated with a low 25(OH)D3 level.