RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Managing vitamin D deficiency in inflammatory bowel disease
JF Frontline Gastroenterology
JO Frontline Gastroenterol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 394
OP 400
DO 10.1136/flgastro-2018-101055
VO 10
IS 4
A1 Ole Haagen Nielsen
A1 Thomas Irgens Hansen
A1 John Mark Gubatan
A1 Kim Bak Jensen
A1 Lars Rejnmark
YR 2019
UL http://fg.bmj.com/content/10/4/394.abstract
AB Management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is generally cumbersome for patients and is a massive health-economic burden. In recent years, the immunomodulating effects of vitamin D have gained a huge interest in its possible pathogenic influence on the pathophysiology of IBD. Vitamin D deficiency is frequent among patients with IBD. Several clinical studies have pointed to a critical role for vitamin D in ameliorating disease outcomes. Although causation versus correlation unfortunately remains an overwhelming issue in the illusive chicken versus egg debate regarding vitamin D and IBD, here we summarise the latest knowledge of the immunological effects of vitamin D in IBD and recommend from available evidence that physicians regularly monitor serum 25(OH)D levels in patients with IBD. Moreover, we propose an algorithm for optimising vitamin D status in patients with IBD in clinical practice. Awaiting well-powered controlled clinical trials, we consider vitamin D supplementation to be an affordable and widely accessible therapeutic strategy to ameliorate IBD clinical outcomes.