The impact of vitamin D deficiency and autoimmunity on chronic spontaneous urticaria severity

Abstract

Background and Design: In this study, we investigated the role of vitamin D deficiency and autoimmunity in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) etiopathogenesis and their impact on the disease severity. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients with CSU aged between 18 and 65 years were enrolled to the study. The control group comprised 40 healthy individuals who had no episodes of urticaria or any other chronic diseases. An autologous serum skin test (ASST) was performed in all patients. In addition, 25 hydroxyvitamin D, thyroid autoantibodies (TA), anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), and basophils were evaluated in all groups. Urticaria activity score-7 (UAS7) and dermatological quality of life index (DLQI) of all patients were examined. Results: Angioedema was more frequent and UAS7 was higher in ASST-positive patients than ASST-negative patients (p=0.035, p=0.018, respectively). <10 ng/mL vitamin D levels were more fraquently seen in the patients with CU than in the control group (p=0.002). The frequencies of TA and ANA positivity were higher, and basophil count was lower in all patients compared to the control group (p=0.001, p=0.001, p=0.001, respectively). The quality of life was more impaired in patients with positive ASST (p=0.011). The duration of the disease was longer, and UAS7 was higher in patients with positive-TA (p=0.012, p=0.028, respectively). UAS7 was significantly higher in ANA-positive patients (p=0.042). A significant negative correlation was found between the DLQI and basophil counts (p=0.039). Conclusion: Understanding the role of vitamin D deficiency, autoimmunity in CSU etiopathogenesis may help treat severe diseases.

Keywords

• urticaria
• vitamin d
• thyroid antibodies
• anti-nuclear antibody
• basophils