Vitamin D Status among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Attending Benghazi Medical Centre Rheumatoid Out-patients Clinic: A Cross-sectional Study

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the occurrence of autoimmune illnesses such multiple sclerosis and type one diabetes millets. This study aims to evaluate the vitamin D status in RA patients, as well as the link between vitamin D levels and disease activity. The current study is a cross-sectional study carried on rheumatoid arthritis patients who attend Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC) rheumatoid clinic. The sample includes all age groups of RA patients who had a recent serum vitamin D test results giving aresponse rate of 95 %. The study consists of 248 patients, 39 (15.7%) are male and the remaining 209 (84.3%) are female. The overall mean ± standard deviation of age for men and women was in the range of 53 ± 4. 24% of patients had normal vitamin D levels, while 36% and 40% of patients had insufficiency and deficiency in vitamin D, respectively. Gender and marriage status were the only socio-economic factors associated with the subject's vitamin D status (p <0.05). Body mass index was a nutritional factor associated with a subject's vitamin D status (p <0.05) in RA patients. It is recommended that all RA patients have serum vitamin D as routine test.