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Vitamin D deficiency in pneumonia patients is associated with increased mortality


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A NEW STUDY published in the journal ‘Respirology’ reveals that adult patients admitted to the hospital with pneumonia are more likely to die if they have vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is known to be involved in the innate immune


response to infection. The team of researchers at Waikato Hospital and the


Universities of Waikato and Otago, measured vitamin D in the blood samples of 112 adult patients admitted with community acquired pneumonia during the winter at the only acute-care hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand. The researchers found that vitamin D deficiency was associated with higher mortality within the first 30 days after hospital admission for pneumonia. The association between vitamin D deficiency was not explained by patient age, sex, comorbidities, the severity of the systemic inflammatory response, or other known prognostic factors. The authors conclude that: “an improved understanding of


vitamin D and its role in immunity may lead to better ways to prevent and/or treat pneumonia. We now need to investigate whether vitamin D supplements could be a useful addition to pneumonia treatment and whether using supplements could help to prevent or reduce the severity of pneumonia among high-risk populations.” ■


AH


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Arab Health Issue 3 2011 11


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