Case control evaluation of serum vitamin D levels in psoriasis

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic non-infectious skin disorder which is mainly characterized by the hyperproliferation and disturbance in keratinocyte differentiation. Data shows that vitamin-D have role in regulation of keratinocyte proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis along with immunomodulatory actions. However, studies pertaining to the evaluation of vitamin-D serum level in psoriasis is relatively less. We studied the serum level of vitamin-D in psoriasis and compared with the controls at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This is a case-control study carried on 50 psoriasis and 44 age and sex matched controls from the dermatology outpatient clinic. Age, sex, occupation, family history and body mass index were recorded. Severity of psoriatic skin lesions were assessed using Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scoring. Serum vitamin-D level was assessed by Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA) technique. Less than 20ng/ml (50nmol/l) was considered as vitamin-D deficiency and the data were statistically analyzed. Results: The mean vitamin-D level of cases and controls was 15.6±7.7 and 19.8±10.2 respectively. Their difference was statistically significant (P<0> Conclusions: Serum vitamin-D level was significantly lower in psoriasis cases than controls and was inversely proportional to PASI score. Vitamin D could play a role in the disease pathogenesis but the exact nature remains unclear.