RESEARCH - Vitamin D intake and risks of SLE and RA in women

[Guest guest]

ls of the Rheumatic Diseases 2008;67:530-535

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXTENDED REPORTS

Vitamin D intake and risks of systemic lupus erythematosus and

rheumatoid arthritis in women

K H Costenbader 1,2, D Feskanich 1, M Holmes 1, E W Karlson 1,2, E

Benito- 3

1 Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology, and

Allergy, Section of Clinical Sciences, Brigham and Women's Hospital,

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

2 Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's

Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

3 BioEPI, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Taguspark,

Núcleo Central, Oeiras, Portugal

Objectives: Vitamin D has immune-modulating effects and may protect

against the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and

rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We identified incident cases of SLE and RA among 186 389

women followed from 1980 to 2002 in the Nurses' Health Study and

Nurses' Health Study II cohorts. We excluded subjects where SLE or RA

was not confirmed by medical record review, and those who failed to

return questionnaires. Semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires

assessed vitamin D intake from food and supplements. We used

cumulative-updated total energy-adjusted dietary exposures for each

2-year cycle. Relationships between vitamin D intake and incident SLE

and RA were examined in age-adjusted and proportional hazards

models, adjusted for confounders. Results were pooled using

meta-analysis random effects models.

Results: We confirmed 190 incident cases of SLE and 722 of RA with

dietary information. Increasing levels of vitamin D intake had no

relationship to the relative risk of developing either SLE or RA.

Conclusions: Vitamin D intake was not associated with risk of SLE or

RA in these large prospective cohorts of women.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://ard.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/67/4/530

--

Not an MD