Evaluation of 25 hydroxy vitamin D3 levels in patients with alopecia areata

Background and Design: Current studies link vitamin D deficiency with many autoimmune diseases. Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune dermatological disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D levels and alopecia areata. Materials and Methods: 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] levels in 40 patients with alopecia areata and age, gender and skin phototype-matched healthy controls were evaluated. Serum 25(OH) D levels were measured in all subjects and grouped as normal/sufficient (>30 ng/ml), insufficient (15-30 ng/ml) and deficient (<15 ng/ml). Results: Both the study and control groups were composed of 21 females and 19 males. The mean age was 31.23 +/- 7.34 (21-50) and 30.58 +/- 7.19 (21-48), respectively. In the study group, 2.5% of patients (n=1) had normal, 15% (n=6) insufficient and 82.5% (n=33) of patients had deficient 25(OH) D levels. In the control group, 2.5% (n=1) of patients had normal, 25% (n=10) insufficient and 72.5% (n=29) of patients had deficient 25(OH) D levels. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p>0.05). In both groups 97.5% of patients had 25(OH) D levels below the normal range. Conclusion: Vitamin D levels in patients with AA were similar to those in the controls. This similarity may suggest that there is no relationship between vitamin D and AA. However, it may also indicate that the relationship between AA and Vitamin D is not via the level but vitamin D receptor (number and/or structure).