Serum Vitamin D Status in Iranian Fibromyalgia Patients: according to the Symptom Severity and Illness Invalidation

Abstract

BackgroundThis study was designed to assess serum vitamin D status (25-OHD) in the fibromyalgia (FM) patients and to compare it with a healthy control group. It also aimed to investigate the correlation of serum vitamin D level with FM symptom severity and invalidation experiences.MethodsA total of 74 consecutive patients with FM and 68 healthy control participants were enrolled. The eligible FM patients completed the Illness Invalidation Inventory (3*I), the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and a short-form health survey (SF-12). Venous blood samples were drawn from all participants to evaluate serum 25-OHD levels. Mann-Whitney tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed and Spearman's correlations were calculated.Results88.4% of FM patients had low levels of serum 25-OHD. FM patients had significantly higher level of serum 25-OHD than the control group (17.24 ± 13.50 and 9.91 ± 6.47 respectively, P = 0.0001). There were no significant correlations between serum 25-OHD levels and the clinical measures of disease impact, invalidation dimensions, and health status. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that an increased discounting of the disease by the patient's spouse was associated with a 4-fold increased risk for vitamin D deficiency (OR = 4.36; 95% CI, 0.95–19.87, P = 0.05).ConclusionsThis study showed that although high rates of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency were seen among FM patients and healthy non-FM participants, but it seems there was no intrinsic association between FM and vitamin D deficiency. Addressing of invalidation experience especially by the patient's spouse is important in management of FM.

Vitamin and mineral status in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Most studies investigating vitamin D (n = 6) found no significant associations between vitamin D and clinical parameters in CFS [75] and FMS [35,49,65,72,76] patients. However, two studies found significantly higher VAS-score for pain in patients with vitamin D levels <30 ng/ml compared to FMS patients with vitamin D levels of >30ng/ml [44,60].…”

Vitamin and mineral status in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The additional analysis was not possible for magnesium, since only two studies achieved more than half of the maximum quality score. No differences in circulating concentrations of vitamin C (patients n = 93, controls n = 102, pooled SMD:- [49,61,65,70], and calcium = (patients n = 184, controls n = 178; pooled SMD:0.18 95%CI:-0.18,0.54; p = .34) [49,61,71,72] were found. The significant difference in circulating concentrations of vitamin E between patients and controls disappeared when studies with low quality score were excluded (patients n = 91, controls n = 90, pooled SMD: -1.86, 95%CI:-4.28, 0.56; p = .13) [32, 67,73].…”

“…Vitamin and mineral status. All studies that investigated vitamin B12 (n = 1) [62], folic acid (n = 1) [62], iron (n = 2) [48,50], molybdenum (n = 1) [66], phosphorus (n = 4) [46,49,61,71,72] sodium (n = 3) [42,46,66], and iodine (n = 1) [66], and the majority of studies that investigated potassium (n = 3/4) [42,46,59], and selenium status (n = 4/5) [39,46,66,69] found no statistically significant difference between patients and controls (Table 3). In contrast, all studies that investigated vitamin B1 (n = 1/1) [54], and manganese (n = 1/1) [46], and the majority of studies that investigated vitamin A (n = 2/4) [39,67], found statistically significant lower serum values in patients versus controls.…”

Effects of Vitamin D Therapy on Quality of Life in Patients with Fibromyalgia

“…In a recent study by Yilmaz et al [29] including patients with chronic nonspecific widespread musculoskeletal pain, it was reported that replacement of vitamin D improved the quality of life (SF-36). In another study, there were no correlations found between vitamin D and health status [30]. Assessment tools for determining the fibromyalgia are patientdependent, and some environmental factors and personal mood at that time may affect the questionnaire.…”