Role of vitamin D levels in pulmonary tuberculosis

Dr Pallavi Mahajan; Dr Sanjeev Kumar; Dr Ashima Badyal

Authors

Dr Pallavi Mahajan Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital
Dr Sanjeev Kumar Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, GMC Kathua
Dr Ashima Badyal Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry, GMC Jammu

Keywords:

Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Vitamin D, Hypovitaminosis, Balanced Diet

Abstract

An estimated 1/3 population of the world has latent Tuberculosis. India accounts for 25% of the world’s cases in tuberculosis. TB is curable, but fatal within 5 years in 50-65% of cases, if untreated. Transmission usually occurs through the airborne spread of droplet nuclei through patients with infectious pulmonary tuberculosis. There is epidemiological evidence to support the role of vitamin D, which is a lipid soluble vitamin, in the immune response to TB. The present study aimed to evaluate serum vitamin D levels in PTB cases. This study was conducted in GMC Jammu on 100 patients of sputum positive pulmonary tuberculosis, attending OPD of Chest Diseases Hospital, between January and March 2018. A range less than 30ng/ml was considered Hypovitaminosis D. Out of the subjects, 76 PTB patients were found to have low Serum Vitamin D levels, with 68.4% Males and 31.6% females. In case of controls, 52 subjects were suffering from hypovitaminosis D with 59.7% males and 40.3% females. Poor intake of vitamin D- containing food items and decreased sunlight exposure seemed to be the primary cause, while our results suggested therapeutic role for vitamin D in the treatment of tuberculosis.