Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month: Focus on Vitamin D and RA

September 26, 2018

Is vitamin D supplementation warranted in patients at risk for rheumatoid arthritis?

Reference1. Brink M, Johansson L, Nygren E, et al. Vitamin D in individuals before onset of rheumatoid arthritis - relation to vitamin D binding protein and its associated genetic variants. BMC Rheum. 2018;2:26. doi.org/10.1186/s41927-018-0033-8.

Brink and colleagues in Sweden found no link between vitamin D and the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, they did observe that increased levels of vitamin D–binding protein in a small portion of women raise the risk of RA.¹ Scroll through the slides for the details of the study and the take-home points for physicians.

(Image: ©Ekaterina Markelova/Shutterstock.com)

RA, rheumatoid arthritis.

Vitamin D influences immune cells such as T, B, and dendritic cells.

DBP, vitamin D–binding protein.

BMI, body mass index; CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; DBP, vitamin D–binding protein; RF, rheumatoid factor.

BMI, body mass index; DBP, vitamin D–binding protein; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.