Severe vitamin D deficiency is common in critically ill patients at a high northern latitude

• Published in: Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
• Main Authors: Kvaran, R. B., Sigurdsson, M. I., Skarphedinsdottir, S. J., Sigurdsson, G. H.
• Other Authors: Landspitali University Hospital Research Fund, University of Iceland Research Fund
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2016
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aas.12748; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Faas.12748; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/aas.12748

Background Critically ill patients at southern latitudes have been shown to have low vitamin D levels that were associated with prolonged hospital stay. To our knowledge no studies have been conducted on vitamin D status amongst critically ill patients at high northern latitudes. Despite the Icelandic population traditionally taking vitamin D supplements, we hypothesized that the majority of critically ill patients in Reykjavik, Iceland have low vitamin D levels. Methods This was a prospective observational study on 122 patients admitted to Landspitali University Hospital intensive care unit. Serum vitamin D (25( OH )D) was measured in all patients on two occasions (first and second day). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its effect on hospital stay was calculated. Results Only 9% of patients had vitamin D levels recommended for good health (>75 nmol/l) and 69% were deficient (25( OH )D < 50 nmol/l). The average difference between the first and second vitamin D samples was 2.8 nmol/l. Forty‐three percentage of the severely vitamin D deficient stayed in the ICU for more than 4 days compared to 19% of patients with better status ( P = 0.196). Discussion Vitamin D deficiency is very common in critically ill patients at high northern latitudes and patients with severely deficient vitamin D levels had trend towards longer intensive care unit stay. Furthermore, 43% of the patients had vitamin D levels under 25 nmol/l that is associated with osteomalacia. It appears that a single vitamin D measurement gives a reasonable clue about the vitamin D status in critically ill patients.