If You’re Taking a Steroid, Check Your Vitamin D Level

Your serum level of vitamin D ought to be somewhere between 20 and 50 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL.  Levels below 10 ng/mL are associated with osteomalacia (softening of bones), rickets (softening bones in children), and muscle weakness.  Steroid administration has been shown to be associated with vitamin D deficiency, but now a new study has provided information of the frequency of this effect. It’s published online in the Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism.    

Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY City, analyzed a nationally representative sample of US children, adolescents, and adults drawn from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006.  There were 22,650 individuals in the sample. About 1% of the sample said they had used steroids in the previous 30 days.  (Those taking steroids by inhalers were not included in this analysis). The relationship between steroid use and 25(OH)D – i.e. vitamin D - levels was assessed.

A total of 181 individuals (0.9%) used steroids within the 30 days leading up to their blood sample.  Among these ‘users’, 11% had 25(OH)D levels below 10 ng/mL, compared to 5% among non-steroid users.  The risk for steroid users was particularly great for those under 18;  they were 14-times more likely to have a severe vitamin D deficiency compared with young non-users.         

This study shows that taking long-term steroids may be associated with twice the risk of having a severe vitamin D deficiency – higher for people under 18.  This makes it advisable for those on prolonged therapy to get a serum 25(OH)D check, just in case.  The effects of vitamin D deficiency are not insignificant.