Vitamin D as a therapy for colitis: a systematic review.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM:

The effect of vitamin D supplementation on immune disorders has been a topical research focus. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the current evidence of the effect of vitamin D supplementation as a therapy for colitis.

METHODS:

The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, Cinicaltrials.gov and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials using the terms 'inflammatory bowel disease' 'Crohn's disease' 'ulcerative colitis' 'colitis' [and] 'vitamin D'. Both human and animal studies published in English language were examined. The reference lists of included studies and review articles were manually searched for any relevant studies.

RESULTS:

Four studies were included in this systematic review. All reported an improvement in disease activity with vitamin D supplementation. The only high quality human study reported a non-significant reduction of relapse rate for Crohn's disease. No major adverse effects of vitamin D supplementation were reported.

CONCLUSIONS:

Although there is some evidence that supplemental vitamin D, as an adjunctive treatment, may help in controlling colitis, this evidence is not enough to justify using vitamin D in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Large high quality placebo-controlled randomised controlled trials are needed to explore a possible benefit of using vitamin D in treating IBD.

• Authors: Imogen Nicholson, A Mark Dalzell, Wael El-Matary
• Journal: Journal of Crohn's & colitis (J Crohns Colitis) Vol. 6 Issue 4 Pg. 405-11 (May 2012) ISSN: 1876-4479 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22398085 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review, Systematic Review)
• Copyright: Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Vitamins
• Vitamin D

Topics

• Animals
• Colitis (drug therapy)
• Humans
• Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (drug therapy)
• Vitamin D (therapeutic use)
• Vitamins (therapeutic use)