25-hydroxyvitamin d deficiency in kidney transplant recipients.

Iran J Kidney Dis. 2011 Jan;5(1):57-62.
Taziki O, Espahbodi F, Alizadeh Forutan M, Kashi Z.
Department of Endocrinology, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. zkashi at mazums.ac.ir.

Introduction. After kidney transplantation, patients appear to have vitamin D deficiency due to the use of immunosuppressive treatment and prevention of sunlight. This study was designed to determine vitamin D serum levels in kidney transplant patients in comparison with healthy individuals.

Materials and Methods. Forty-six kidney transplant patients with a creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min and 46 healthy individuals with normal kidney function were tested for serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and parathyroid hormone at the end of the summer.

Results. Thirty-one participants were men and 15 were women in each group. The mean age was 41.0 ± 14.2 years in kidney transplant recipients and 41.4 ±13.7 years in the control group. Inadequate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was seen in 93.5% of the transplant patients and in 89.1% of the controls. There was a 58.7% vitamin D insufficiency (20 ng/mL to 30 ng/mL) and a 34.8% deficiency (lower than 20 ng/mL) in the patients, and these rates were 58.7% and 26.0% in the control group, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups.

Conclusions. Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in kidney transplant patients. Lack of a significant difference between our two groups may be attributable to the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in general population and the use of vitamin D supplementation in transplant patients. Indeed, adequate doses of vitamin D in these patients are undetermined. They may need higher doses for normalization of serum vitamin D and metabolic requirements. PMID: 21189437
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35% Kidney patients with less than 20 ng vs. non kidney patients 26%

So many were low even though the kidney patients had ‘some’ vitamin D supplementation

See also at VitaminDwiki All items in Kidney and Vitamin D category 193 items

There is a probable vicious circle between kidney and vitamin D - before transplant