Vitamin D deficiency linked to TB infection

Patients with active tuberculosis are more likely to be vitamin D deficient than the rest of the population, according to new clinical findings presented at the annual Society for Endocrinology BES meeting in Harrogate, UK. These show that the majority of TB patients have low levels of vitamin D, leading to the possibility that supplementation could reinforce treatment or could help prevent infection.

Researchers at the Central Middlesex Hospital in London examined the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in an ethnically-diverse population who had active tuberculosis. Out of 158 patients in the study, only 7% had adequate vitamin D levels. It is currently unclear whether these findings represent a contributory factor to infection or whether it is caused by TB, the researchers said.