Elevated Vitamin D Levels may Reduce Risk of Anemia, New Study Finds

Anemia is a leading public health issue across the entire globe, with a universal prevalence in all regions, by age group, and among all demographic groups. According to the WHO, there are about 1.6 billion anemic individuals worldwide-thus it poses as a critical health issue. This is a recent research that was concerned with placing 25(OH)D as an inhibitor in the course of developing anemia among patients. Various researchers have discovered a significant role for reducing inflammation and hepcidin inhibition, which orchestrates the iron metabolism; therefore, the mechanisms by which 25(OH)D may affect anemia are still not well understood.

This study, carried out by Chunyan Wang’s group at The Second Hospital, Cheelo College of Medicine, Shandong University, aimed to determine the causal relationship between 25(OH)D levels and anemia risk through cross-sectional and two-sample Mendelian randomization. Such studies could contribute to furthering our understanding of the protective properties of 25(OH)D and the possible impact of 25(OH)D on preventing anemia.

Cross-sectional recruitment took place from the local database of 7,160 inpatients in China for the period January 2021 to June 2023. The study population is predominantly female with a mean age of 56.5 years. The percentage of anemia within this cohort of patients was at 24.3%. Patients have been stratified into groups based on serum 25(OH)D concentration for better understanding the correlation between vitamin D levels and anemia within the patient population:

• Adequate ≥75 nmol/L

• Insufficient 50–75 nmol/L

• 25–50 nmol/L: deficient

• ≤25 nmol/L: severe deficiency

The researchers performed a multivariable logistic regression to adjust for demographic factors, comorbid conditions, and results from laboratory investigations with an aim to probe the association of 25(OH)D levels with risk of anemia. Additionally, to establish a possible causal relationship of the 25(OH)D level and incidence of anemia, two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis was conducted.

The main outcome of the study was a strong inverse association between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and anemia risk:

• For every one-unit increase in serum concentrations of 25(OH)D, the anemia risk decreased by 5% (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94–0.97; P <.001).

• The prevalence of anemia in the study population was 24.3%.

• There was a nonlinear dose-response relationship identified with the 25(OH)D concentration threshold below which the risk for anemia increased significantly at 48.716 nmol/L .

• Mendelian randomization supported the protective causal relationship between higher levels of 25(OH)D and a 5% decrease in the risk of anemia for a standard deviation increase in the concentration of 25(OH)D.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels had been lowered as an independent factor in the risk of developing anemia. This may open novel lines of thought into the pathogenesis of the condition. Wang et al’s research study adds one among many others while documenting the numerous studies supporting the protective role of vitamin D against the development of anemia. In this high-risk population, regulating levels of 25(OH)D through supplementation or lifestyle might be a useful approach to reducing anemia.

Reference:

Bi S, Zhang J, Wei N, Zhou Q, Wang C. Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Risk of Anemia: An Observational and Mendelian Randomization Study. Int J Gen Med. 2024;17:3893-3905. Published 2024 Sep 6. doi:10.2147/IJGM.S479039