The study of serum vitamin D levels in patients with spinal cord injuries

Purpose: to determine the serum levels of vitamin d and calcium in patients with spinal cord injuries and their association with the scope of the lesion and the time passed since its inception. materials and methods: the participants were 147 spinal cord injured patients with the required criteria who had referred to our center. a questionnaire was filled for all of them to gather demographic details and then they were examined by a specialist. blood sample was taken to determine the serum level of their 25-hydroxy vitamin d. results: the mean of calcium and vitamin d serum levels were 8.33 mg/dl and 15.30 ng/ml, respectively. of the participants, 64.6% had vitamin d deficiency and 18.4% had insufficient level of vitamin d. only in 7.5% of the patients the level of vitamin d was sufficient. in addition, 50.3% of the participants were afflicted with hypocalcaemia and the rest had normal level of calcium. conclusion: according our study many of spinal cord injured patients suffer from vitamin d deficiency. considering the major complications caused by deficiency of vitamin d, prevention and treatment of this complication appears to be crucial in such patients.