Vitamin D modulates inflammation, and this may explain the observed associations between vitamin D status and disorders driven by systemic inflammation, such as coronary artery disease (CAD) and inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs). The aims of this study were to assess vitamin D status in patients with CAD alone and in patients with CAD and IRD, and to explore potential associations between vitamin D status and the presence of mononuclear cell infiltrates (MCIs) in the aortic adventitia of these patients.
Plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D
In the crude analysis, vitamin D levels were similar in CAD patients with and without IRD. After adjustment for potential confounders, IRD was associated with an increase of 8.8 nmol/L [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-16.6; p = 0.027] in 25(OH)D
IRD was associated with higher levels of both 25(OH)D