Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency in Chronic Liver Diseases Exploring the Influence of Demographic, Clinical and Etiological Factors

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a common issue in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and has been linked to various complications.Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in CLD patients and explore how demographic, clinical, and etiological factors influence vitamin D status.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Hepatology and Medicine, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh.A total of 181 patients diagnosed with CLD were selected using purposive sampling.Data collection involved structured interviews, clinical assessments, and laboratory tests, including serum 25hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] measurement using an enzyme-linked fluorescence assay (ELFA).Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 24.0, with Chi-square test used to examine associations between vitamin D levels and various factors.Results: Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent, affecting 81.2% of CLD patients, while 10.5% had insufficient levels, and only 8.3% had sufficient vitamin D levels.Age was significantly linked to vitamin D deficiency (p = 0.002), with older patients being more affected, while gender showed no significant association (p = 0.993).Disease severity played a crucial role, as patients with ascites (p = 0.001) and hepatic encephalopathy (p = 0.038) had notably lower vitamin D levels.Among the underlying causes of CLD, hepatitis B virus (HBV) (p = 0.031) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (p = 0.045) were significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency, whereas hepatitis C virus (HCV) and cryptogenic liver disease also showed high deficiency rates, though without statistical significance.Conclusion: Older age, severe liver disease complications such as ascites and hepatic encephalopathy, and specific etiologies like HBV and NAFLD are strongly associated with vitamin D deficiency among patients with CLD.