Background & Aim: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disorder. The ethiopathogenesis of AD is complicated, but is mainly due to a multifactorial interplay between the presence of a defective skin barrier, immunological dysregulation and environmental factors. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin synthesized in the skin. Recently, there have been several reports that low vitamin D plays a role in the pathogenesis of many conditions including AD. Adaptive and innate immune systems are both regulated by Vitamin D. Consequently, an obvious link between Vitamin D and allergic diseases was constantly a matter of investigation and research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and the severity of Atopic Dermatitis.
Patients and Methods: The study included 36 patients suffering from mild, moderate, and severe atopic dermatitis assessed according to SCORAD index and 36 apparently healthy subjects as a control group. The study was conducted in the Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology outpatients' clinic at Zagazig University hospitals from November 2018 to April 2019 to avoid seasonal variations in Vitamin D levels.
Results: Our study showed that 81.8% of the severe AD cases had deficient vitamin D levels compared to 23.1% and 50% among mild and moderate AD cases respectively, with a statistically significant difference among cases.
Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is a contributing factor for the worsening of AD in the form of a high SCORAD index.