Is severe Vitamin D Deficiency an independent risk factor for critical limb ischemia of patients diagnosed to have atherosclerotic peripheral arterial occlusive disease?

A Dheepak Selvaraj; Prabhu Premkumar; Sam Ponraj; Dr Edwin Stephen; Dr Sunil Agarwal

Volume : VI, Issue : VI, June - 2016

Is severe Vitamin D Deficiency an independent risk factor for critical limb ischemia of patients diagnosed to have atherosclerotic peripheral arterial occlusive disease?

A Dheepak Selvaraj, Prabhu Premkumar, Sam Ponraj, Dr Edwin Stephen, Dr Sunil Agarwal

Abstract :

 Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess vitamin D status in patients with atherosclerotic peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) in relation to the severity of disease Methods: This was a prospective cohort study. Patients with symptomatic PAOD were divided into claudicants and patients with critical limb ischemia. Patient demography, risk factor profile, ABPI and vitamin D levels were assessed. Results: Of the cohort of 100 patients, 24 patients were severely vitamin D deficient, 36 patients had moderate deficiency, 23 patients had mild deficiency and 17 patients had normal vitamin levels. There was a statistically significant difference of severe vitamin D deficiency in the critical limb group compared to the claudicants (32% vs 14%) (p =0.004). Low ankle achial index (<0.4) was associated with more severe vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion: Severe vitamin deficiency appears to be an independent risk factor in critical limb ischemia.