Vitamin D intake is inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the Iowa Women's Health Study.

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Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Jan;50(1):72-7.

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Vitamin D intake is inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis:

results from the Iowa Women's Health Study.

Merlino LA, Curtis J, Mikuls TR, Cerhan JR, Criswell LA, Saag KG;

Iowa Women's Health Study.

College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City.

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D is a potent regulator of calcium homeostasis and

may have immunomodulatory effects. The influence of vitamin D on

human autoimmune disease has not been well defined. The purpose of

this study was to evaluate the association of dietary and

supplemental vitamin D intake with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

incidence. METHODS: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study

of 29,368 women of ages 55-69 years without a history of RA at study

baseline in 1986. Diet was ascertained using a self-administered, 127-

item validated food frequency questionnaire that included

supplemental vitamin D use. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence

intervals (95% CIs) were estimated using proportional hazards

regression, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Through 11

years of followup, 152 cases of RA were validated against medical

records. Greater intake (highest versus lowest tertile) of vitamin D

was inversely associated with risk of RA (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.44-1.00,

P for trend = 0.05). Inverse associations were apparent for both

dietary (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.46-1.14, P for trend = 0.16) and

supplemental (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.43-1.00, P for trend = 0.03) vitamin

D. No individual food item high in vitamin D content and/or calcium

was strongly associated with RA risk, but a composite measure of milk

products was suggestive of an inverse association with risk of RA (RR

0.66, 95% CI 0.42-1.01, P for trend = 0.06). CONCLUSION: Greater

intake of vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of RA in

older women, although this finding is hypothesis generating.

PMID: 14730601 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=14730601 & dopt=Abstract