Vitamin D Deficiency and its Propensity for Severe Dengue Fever: A Prospective Observational Study in a Tertiary Care Centre, Odisha, India

Introduction: In addition to being necessary for maintaining the body’s calcium and phosphorus levels and regulating bone metabolism, vitamin D (vit D) is regarded as a potent immunomodulator that influences both innate and adaptive immune responses and is crucial for pathogen defence systems. There is growing interest in vitamin D’s potential role in Dengue Virus (DENV) infection. Aim: To ascertain whether vitamin D deficiency is related to severe dengue disease in individuals diagnosed with Dengue Fever (DF) or its sequelae. Materials and Methods: The current study was a single-centre, cross-sectional study, including 172 patients diagnosed with dengue after obtaining written informed consent. The diagnosis was confirmed by a Non Structural Protein 1 (NS1) test or a dengue specific IgM or IgG antibodies test using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). A structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the patients, including demographic factors, vital signs, laboratory parameters, and radiology findings. Vitamin D levels were measured in all patients using spectrometry and were divided into two groups: deficient (≤20 ng/mL) and sufficient (>20 ng/mL). Data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 37 years, and most of the patients were male 102 (59.3%). With respect to dengue infection, 49 (28.5%) had DF, 84 (48.8%) had Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF), and the remaining 39 (22.7%) had Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). According to vitamin D status, 118 (68.6%) had insufficient vitamin D levels, while the remaining 54 (31.6%) had sufficient vitamin D. The proportion of females in the vitamin D deficient group was significantly higher (82.9%) compared to the vitamin D sufficient group (17.1%) (p-value=0.001). The severe forms of dengue infection, such as DHF and DSS, were found to be significantly higher in the vitamin D deficient group compared to the sufficient group, with a p-value of 0.041. Conclusion: The study found a significant association between vitamin D levels and the severity of DF. The use of vitamin D as a therapeutic measure for all forms of DF is supported by the study findings.