Relationship Between Vitamin D Deficiency And 3 Month Functional Outcome In Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Background: Vitamin deficiency increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Objective: We determined whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with 3 month functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients. Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 328 consecutive patients with first-ever transient ischemic attack and acute ischemic stroke using prospective stroke registry. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was obtained within 24 hours of hospital admission. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25(OH)D level of less than 10 ng/ml. Poor 3 month functional outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 3-6. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to test whether Vitamin D deficiency is an independent predictor of poor 3 month functional outcome. Results: Mean age was 67.4 (±13.2) years, and 59.1% of patients were men. Mean level of 25(OH)D was 11.5 ± 6.1 ng/mL and 48.2% of patients were vitamin D-deficient. On bivariate analysis, vitamin D deficiency was associated with 4 seasonal variation (Pearson’s X2, p = 0.008) and severe NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (Mann-Whitney U, p Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Korea, and associated with poor 3 month functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Future trials should be designed to determine whether optimal vitamin D supplementation could improve functional outcomes of stroke patients.