To Investigate The Association Between Chronic Functional Constipation & Serum Vitamin D Levels At A Rural Tertiary Care Centre in North India -A Case Control Study

Abstract Background: Chronic functional constipation (CFC) is a long lasting debilitating condition whose exact pathophysiology is still not clear. Aim: To evaluate the association between serum vitamin D levels and chronic functional constipation. Methods: We performed a prospective case control study in total 70 patients with & without chronic functional constipation. Their serum vitamin D levels were assessed, which were further evaluated for any association with the constipation and its severity. Result: In this prospective case control study of 70 patients, we took 35 cases (patients with chronic functional constipation) and 35 controls (patients without chronic functional constipation) and measured their serum vitamin D level and found that patients suffering from chronic functional constipation have significantly low level of serum vitamin D level (mean value 12.829±3.92 ng/ml) as compared to patient without chronic functional constipation (mean value 18.71±6.93 ng/ml). Our study also reveal low serum vitamin D levels were positively corelated with severity of constipation p value < 0.001 (assessed using Wexner constipation score). Conclusion: The Vitamin D deficiency is commonly associated with chronic functional constipation and its severity. A routine vitamin D measurement in CFC can play an important role in its management.