Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and factors associated with vitamin D deficiency and morbidity among HIV-infected patients enrolled in a large Italian cohort

Background: A high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (hypD) in HIV-infected patients has been reported, but reasons are unclear. Methods: The 25 hydroxy vitamin D (vitD) concentration was measured in a sample of HIV-positive patients from Italy enrolled in the Icona Foundation Study. The change in absolute levels of vitD pre/post combination antiretroviral treatment was modelled by linear regression controlling for confounders and seasonality. Factors associated with hypD were identified using logistic regression analysis, and survival analysis was employed to evaluate the prognostic value of vitD concentration to predict severe diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular, renal), AIDS, and death. RESULTS:: We studied 810 patients contributing 1408 vitD measures. Median age was 36 years (range: 20-69). VitD insufficiency (30-75 nmol/L) and deficiency (