Vitamin D in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Objective. The purpose of this study is to compare the serum levels of vitamin D with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) girls and controls via meta-analysis methods. We searched Medline (via PubMed), Cochrane, Scopus, and Embase databases for studies evaluating outcomes of AIS, including patient age, body mass index, bone mineral density (BMD), and serum levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium and phosphate published between January 2000 and June 2020. We searched studies only confined to human. The criterion to be included was a scoliosis study measuring vitamin D levels. We excluded duplicate publications such as review articles, case reports, and letters without original data. Two authors independently extracted data and they solved their data discrepancies by consensus. Results. We identified eight comparative studies. Demographic characteristics, bone density, serum levels of vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, and phosphate were not significantly different between AIS and controls, except for serum calcium levels. Serum calcium levels were lower in AIS than in controls. Level of serum calcium was lower in AIS than control. Conclusions. This review includes eight comparative studies reporting serum levels of vitamin D and/or parathyroid hormone for AIS. Due to the heterogeneity, a limited number of meta-analyses have shown a weak association between serum vitamin D levels and onset of AIS. Therefore, larger, multi-centered studies are needed to validate the results.