Vitamin D3 Concentration Correlates with the Severity of Multiple Sclerosis

Background: to investigate the possible association between serum25(oh) vitamin d3 concentration and the severity of disease in iranianpatients with multiple sclerosis (ms) and to compare this concentrationwith a matched control group.methods: this was an analytical cross-sectional study performed atjondishapour neurology clinic in tehran, iran. patients with relapsing–remitting ms were categorized by disease severity: mild [0? expandeddisability status scale (edss) ?3], moderate (3.5?edss?5.5), andsevere (6?edss). serum concentrations of 25(oh) vitamin d3, calcium,phosphorus, magnesium, and parathyroid hormone were measured in98 ms patients and 17 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. fisher’sexact, kruskal–wallis, mann–whitney u test, and independent t andspearman rank correlation tests were used.results: serum 25(oh) vitamin d3 concentration was signifi cantly lowerin patients with ms, especially in the severe ms subgroup, comparedwith healthy controls (p=0.047). there was a statistically signifi cantinverse correlation between 25(oh) vitamin d3 concentration andedss score (p=0.049, r=–0.168 by spearman rank correlation test),which was observed in women only (p=0.044, r=–0.199).conclusions: our fi ndings not only further disclose the lower level ofvitamin d in ms patients in comparison with healthy controls, but alsosupport the association between vitamin d and disease severity in ms.