Reciprocal seasonal variation in vitamin D status and tuberculosis notifications in Cape Town, South Africa.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-uninfected people in Europe, but it is not known whether such an association exists among HIV-infected people in subtropical Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine whether vitamin D deficiency was associated with susceptibility to active TB in HIV-uninfected (n = 196) and HIV-infected (n = 174) black Africans in Cape Town, South Africa. We also investigated whether there was evidence of seasonal variation in vitamin D status and TB notifications in this setting over an 8-y period.