The Role of Vitamin D and Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in the Course of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children

Abstract

Background: The etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still unclear. Prior studies suggest genetic components that may influence the incidence and severity of the disease. Additionally, it was shown that low levels of serum vitamin D may have an impact on the clinical course of the disease due to its effect on the immunological system. Methods: We aimed to investigate the correlation between the incidence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms (rs11568820, rs10735810, rs1544410, rs7975232, and rs731236, commonly described as Cdx2, FokI, Bsm, ApaI, and TaqI, respectively) and vitamin D concentration with the clinical course of IBD (disease activity, extent of the intestinal lesions). Data were obtained from 62 patients with IBD (34 with Crohn’s disease, 28 with ulcerative colitis), aged 3–18 years, and compared with controls (N = 47), aged 8–18 years. Results: Although there was no difference in the incidence of individual genotypes between the study groups (IBD, C) in all the polymorphisms examined, we described a significant increase in the chance of developing IBD for heterozygotes of Cdx2 (OR: 2.3, 95% CI 0.88–6.18, p = 0.04) and BsmI (OR: 2.07, 95% CI 0.89–4.82, p = 0.048) polymorphisms. The mean serum 25OHD level in patients with IBD was significantly higher compared with the controls (19.87 ng/mL vs. 16.07 ng/mL; p = 0.03); however, it was still below optimal (>30 ng/mL). Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between vitamin D level and TaqI in patients with IBD (p = 0.025) and patients with CD (p = 0.03), as well as with the BsmI polymorphism in patients with IBD (p = 0.04) and patients with CD (p = 0.04). A significant correlation was described between the degree of disease activity and genotypes for the FokI polymorphism in patients with UC (p = 0.027) and between the category of endoscopic lesions and genotypes for the Cdx2 polymorphism also in patients with UC (p = 0.046). Conclusions: The results suggest a potential correlation of VDR gene polymorphism with the chance of developing IBD, and the clinical course of the disease requires further studies in larger group of patients. Vitamin D supplementation should be recommended in both children with inflammatory bowel disease and in healthy peers.