(RxWiki News) The right levels of major vitamins are important for your good health. Many medical conditions, such as psoriasis, can send those vitamin levels plummeting.
For people who suffer from a combination of psoriasis skin disorder and an accompanying inflammatory arthritis, there is a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency. The low levels of vitamin D are slightly more significant in high latitude locales during winter, suggesting a correlation with lack of sun.
"Ask your doctor about vitamin D supplements if you have psoriatic arthritis."
Dafna Gladman, MD, conducted research at the University of Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Clinic in Canada. Canadian and Israeli teams of researchers evaluated more than 300 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) for about six months, covering summer and winter in both Canada and Israel. This enabled the study to look at effects of climate and sun on PsA sufferers, in relation to their vitamin D levels.
At the Canadian site, the D level was insufficient in 56% of patients in the winter and in 59% during the summer. In Israel, approximately 51% of patients had insufficient levels in winter and 62% of patients had insufficient levels in the summer.
“Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread concern,” Gladman says. “Additional research is needed to determine if PsA patients require a greater vitamin D intake to maintain healthy levels than that recommended for the general population.”
The findings were published in the July 2011 issue of Arthritis Care and Research.
