Abstract
Purpose:
To correlate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in patients with idiopathic choroidal vaculopathy (IPCV) and to compare against age-gender matched controls in a cohort of Singaporean Chinese patients.
Methods:
This single centre prospective, comparative study was conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. Patients diagnosed with IPCV and age-gender matched controls were recruited. Serum 25(OH)D level, serum creatinine level, optical coherence tomography, colour fundus photograph, and a structured interview were conducted. Mann-Whitney test and Fisher’s exact test were performed.
Results:
Twenty-seven patients were included in this study, 21 IPCV subjects (8 female, 13 male) and 6 age-gender matched controls (6 male). The mean age was 70.4 years (59-85). The mean serum 25(OH)D level was lower in the IPCV group compared to controls (p>0.5). Dietary intake of 25(OH)D supplement, sun exposure, and hormone replacement therapy was higher in IPCV group compared to controls (P>0.5). Number of smokers was lower in the IPCV group and the number of stick-years for smokers were also lower compared to the control group (P>0.5).
Conclusions:
This pilot study shows that IPCV is associated with lower levels of serum 25(OH)D levels compared to age-gender matched normal controls. This is in spite of greater dietary intake of 25(OH)D supplement, sun exposure, hormone replacement therapy, and lower rates of smoking. The results from this study suggest that serum 25(OH)D levels are lower in IPCV patients, and independent of nutritional or behavioural factors associated with hypovitaminosis D.
Keywords: 412 age-related macular degeneration •
463 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence •
688 retina