A Descriptive Study on Vitamin D Levels in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury in an Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Setting

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of inadequate or severely deficient levels of vitamin D in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation service and to describe any associations between patient demographics and injury characteristics and vitamin D levels.DesignRetrospective case series.SettingAcademic inpatient SCI rehabilitation program.SubjectsOne hundred patients with SCI who were consecutively admitted to acute inpatient rehabilitation from January to December 2007.MethodsData were retrospectively abstracted from the patient's medical chart.Outcome MeasureVitD-25(OH)ResultsThe prevalence of VitD-25(OH) inadequacy or severe deficiency was 93% in this sample of patients with SCI. The mean VitD-25(OH) level was 16.29 ± 7.73 ng/mL, with a range from 7.00 to 36.80 ng/mL. Twenty-one percent of the sample had VitD-25(OH) levels that were considered as severely deficient (≤10 ng/mL). African-American subjects had statistically significant lower mean VitD-25(OH) levels compared with Caucasian subjects (12.96 versus 17.79 ng/mL; P = .003). Persons with an incomplete injury had significant lower mean VitD-25(OH) levels compared with complete injuries (14.64 versus 18.15 ng/mL; P = .023).ConclusionsInadequate or severely deficient levels of VitD-25(OH) were highly prevalent in patients with SCI admitted to an acute inpatient rehabilitation service. Evaluation of serum VitD-25(OH) levels are recommended in patients with SCI because low levels may contribute to osteoporosis.