Clinical correlation analysis between vitamin A in Crohn disease combined with anemia

This study aimed to measure serum vitamin A levels in patients with Crohn disease (CD) and evaluate their clinical correlation with CD-associated anemia. Seventy-two CD patients treated at Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine between September 2023 and June 2024 were enrolled. Patients were stratified into anemic (n = 29) and non-anemic (n = 43) groups based on hemoglobin levels (males: hemoglobin [Hb] < 120 g/L; females: Hb < 110g/L). Vitamin concentrations were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Blood routine parameters, biochemical indices, and Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) scores were recorded. Fat-soluble vitamin levels and their correlations with clinical indicators were compared between groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis assessed the diagnostic efficacy of vitamin A for CD-associated anemia. Vitamin A levels were significantly lower in the anemic group (399.7 ± 185.08 ng/mL) compared to the non-anemic group (800.04 ± 383.43 ng/mL) (P < .001). After adjusting for gender and C-reactive protein (CRP), Spearman partial correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between vitamin A and Hb, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, Ferritin and body mass index (BMI) (R = 0.330, 0.249, 0.313, and 0.347, respectively; all P < .05). Univariate linear regression confirmed a significant positive correlation between vitamin A and Hb (R2 = 0.340, P < .05). Logistic regression identified sex, vitamin A, CRP, ESR, BMI, and HBI as independent risk factors for anemia (P < .05). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that vitamin A effectively diagnosed anemia (AUC = 0.836; 95% CI: 0.742-0.929), with an optimal cutoff of 466.2 ng/mL, sensitivity of 90.7%, and specificity of 69.0%. Vitamin A levels are significantly reduced in CD patients with anemia and positively correlate with hemoglobin. Vitamin A may serve as a valuable biomarker for predicting anemia development in CD.