The relationship of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration with clinical variables in patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The relationship between vitamin D and oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration in patients with OD and to verify its association to nutritional status, functional independence measure (FIM), time of clinical signs (TCS) and OD severity. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with outpatients. Body mass index (BMI), FIM, TCS, causes of OD, comorbidities, penetration-aspiration scale (PAS) and severity scale were evaluated. METHODS: A multiple linear regression and effect size were performed to evaluate the association between serum 25(OH)D concentration and independent variables. RESULTS: Forty-eight participants were included, with a mean age of 60.1 ± 15.3 years. The mean of the 25(OH)D concentration was 26.10 ± 12.0 ng/mL. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (<30 ng/mL) was 73%. In the multiple linear regression analysis (adjusted for sex, age, BMI, dietary intake and solar radiation), 25(OH)D concentration was significantly related with the TCS (p = 0.01, f2 = 0.48). Patients with hypovitaminosis D had a moderate effect (p = 0.08, δ = 0.36) for a lower FIM score. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that serum 25(OH)D concentration may be related to the TCS and the functional capacity of patients with OD.