Background: Vitamin D has been shown to have immunomodulatory effects, and previous studies have proposed a role of vitamin D deficiency in multiple autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate serum vitamin D levels in psoriatic patients and compare them with levels in controls.
Methods: This study was carried out in 50 psoriasis patients. Serum vitamin D was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: The mean serum vitamin D levels in psoriatic patients and controls were 14.92 ± 6.31 and 12.52 ± 4.54 ng/mL, respectively. The difference was not statistically significant (P = .06). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) was 84.0% in psoriatic patients and 93.0% in controls (P = .21).
Conclusions: Most of the patients with psoriasis had vitamin D deficiency, which may have contributed to the evolution of their psoriasis. However, considering the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Iran, no difference was noted between the psoriatic patients and the controls.
Keywords: Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI); psoriasis; serum vitamin D.
© The Author(s) 2015.