High rates of vitamin D insufficiency among patients presenting for total knee arthroplasty.

Widely varying prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been reported in patients presenting for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The primary aim of this study was to determine vitamin D levels in TKA patients and to compare to patients already routinely evaluated for vitamin D levels, patients with fragility fractures of the distal radius (DRF). There is significant overlap between patients presenting for TKA and with DRF, both in terms of medical comorbidities and overall health status, making these populations suitable comparative cohorts. Wefound that all patients presenting for TKA consultation had vitamin D insufficiency and 33% had vitamin D deficiency, compared to only 37% and 14% in the DRF cohort, a patient population routinely evaluated for vitamin D due to the high risk of deficiency. Furthermore, patients with DRF had higher levels of vitamin D before (38 ± 16 vs. 23 ± 5) and after vitamin D supplementation (39 ± 17 vs. 33 ± 10), suggesting that patients presenting for TKA are at even higher risk of vitamin D insufficiency than patients presenting with DRF. Reassuringly, supplementation successfully corrected 39.0% and 55.8% of patients in the DRF and TKA cohorts, respectively.

Trends and disparities in systemic lupus erythematosus incidence among U.S. active component service members, 2000-2022.

Inpatient and outpatient encounter data retrieved from the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS) were used to establish that there were 1,127 diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among active component U.S. service members (ACSM) from 2000 to 2022, with an overall incidence rate of 3.5 cases per 100,000 person-years. Annual incidence remained relatively constant over the 23-year surveillance period, peaking in 2009. Female ACSM accounted for 69.5% of incident cases, with a rate of incidence 12.3 times greater than males, while non-Hispanic Black ACSM accounted for 50.0% of incident cases, with a rate 6.7 times greater than among non-Hispanic Whites. This study further demonstrates greatest SLE incidence among non-Hispanic Black women, in all age groups.