PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Hampton, Matthew
AU  - Brewer, Paul
AU  - Athanassacopoulos, Michael
AU  - Breakwell, Lee M.
AU  - Cole, Ashley A.
AU  - Michael, Anthony L.R.
TI  - Prevalence and Significance of Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients Undergoing Corrective Surgery for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
AID  - 10.14444/8189
DP  - 2022 Feb 01
TA  - International Journal of Spine Surgery
PG  - 202--207
VI  - 16
IP  - 1
4099  - https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/16/1/202.short
4100  - https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/16/1/202.full
SO  - Int J Spine Surg2022 Feb 01; 16
AB  - Background The exact etiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is unknown, but recently, vitamin D has been suggested to be of importance in the pathophysiology of AIS. This article sought to (1) highlight the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients undergoing corrective surgery for AIS within the United Kingdom and (2) evaluate the correlation and clinical relevance of preoperative back pain with vitamin D deficiency.Methods Data were collected on 201 consecutive patients undergoing corrective surgery for AIS. Baseline data included patient demographics, medical diagnoses, and standing preoperative Cobb angles. All patients had a preoperative 25-hydroxyvitamin D level recorded. One hundred ninety-six patients completed preoperative Scoliosis Research Society-22 outcome scores to quantify preoperative back pain.Results A total of 177 (89%) patients were young women, and the mean age at time of surgery was 14.9 years (13–18 years). All patients were diagnosed with AIS. The mean Cobb angles at time of surgery was 64°. Only 11 (5.5%) patients had “normal” vitamin D levels (>75 nmol/L), with 147 (74%) patients having deficient levels requiring treatment with supplementation. There was no correlation between vitamin D levels and preoperative Cobb angles (r s = −0.12), and there was a moderate correlation identified between the severity of preoperative vitamin D levels and preoperative back pain scores (r s =0.42).Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with AIS; however, it is comparable to the national prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in healthy adolescent children. There was a strong correlation between preoperative back pain scores and the severity of vitamin D deficiency. These findings suggest that all patients with AIS should be screened for vitamin D deficiency and that supplementation where appropriate may lead to improved pain scores.Clinical Relevance If vitamin D is prevelant and if vitamin D deficiency is found to cause back pain, then there is an easy/cheap/safe treatement with supplementation.Level of Evidence 3.