Vitamin D levels in Swiss multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: Vitamin D levels have not been previously published for Swiss multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. An association between vitamin D status and disease activity in MS has been suggested.

Aim: To define 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in Swiss multiple sclerosis patients.

Method: Cross sectional case control study.

Results: 25(OH)D levels of 80 patients (76.3% female, mean age 37.9 ± 10.6 years, mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 2.6 ± 1.2) were collected. Mean levels of 25(OH)D were 57.0 ± 29.7 nmol/l (range 18-175 nmol/l) in all patients. A total of 21.3% of patients had levels ≤37 nmol/l and 75% had levels ≤70 nmol/l. 25(OH)D levels in patients with previous high disease activity were 52.8 ± 23.1 nmol/l versus 58.9 ± 32.3 nmol/l in the low disease activity group (p = 0.4).

Conclusion: The prevalence of 25(OH)D deficiency was high in Swiss MS patients.