Summary
Background:
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestine that can reduce the absorption of nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium.
Objective:
To investigate bone alterations and serum levels of vitamin D in patients with IBD.
Method:
This was a cross-sectional study based on a review of medical records of patients from a private office in Curitiba, PR, Brazil. Serum levels of vitamin D and bone densitometry were measured at diagnosis of IBD. A total of 105 patients were included; 38 (58.4%) with CD; 27 (41.6%) with UC and 40 with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as comparison group.
Results:
When compared to patients with UC, CD patients showed a higher prevalence of bone alterations, being 15.8% with osteoporosis and 36.8% with osteopenia. In UC, bone alterations occurred in 29.6% of cases, 3.7% with osteoporosis and 25.9% with osteopenia. As for vitamin D levels, among CD patients, 10.5% had vitamin deficiency, 65.8% insufficiency and 23.7% were sufficient. In UC, 7.4% of cases had deficiency, 74.1% insufficiency and 18.5% had sufficient serum levels of vitamin D. In the group with IBS, deficiency was observed in 17.5% of cases, insufficiency in 55% and sufficiency in 27.5% of them. There was no significant difference between groups.
Conclusion:
IBD patients have a high prevalence of bone changes, especially those with CD. Serum levels of vitamin D are below the recommended in all the evaluated groups.
Keywords:
inflammatory bowel disease; osteoporosis; vitamin D