Low levels of Vitamin D are associated with higher incidence of end-stage renal disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or lupus, researchers claimed to have found.

"We have shown that supplementing Vitamin D reduces urine protein, which is the best predictor of future renal failure," said the study's lead author Michelle A. Petri, Director at Hopkins Lupus Center.Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease wherein an unknown trigger causes the body's immune system to attack its own healthy tissues. The most common type of lupus is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).A group of researchers conducted a study, presented at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting 2017 in San Diego, to determine how low Vitamin D levels could predict later organ damage.

The researchers analysed data of 1,392 SLE patients, including their first medical office visit wherein vitamin D levels were measured and organ/tissue damage during follow-up clinic visits. The patients studied included 92 per cent females, with a mean age of 47.3 years, and included 50 per cent Caucasian and 41 per cent African-American.Patients were categorised based on 25-hydroxy Vitamin D levels that were either below 20 nanograms (ng) per millilitre (ml), or at or above 20 ng/ml on their first office visit.

At their first office visit where Vitamin D levels were measured, 27.3 percent of the patients had levels below 20 ng/ml.The researchers then calculated the risk of lifetime organ damage for patients with low vitamin D levels.According to the study's results, the relative risk of renal damage was the highest for SLE patients whose Vitamin D levels were insufficient."Supplementary Vitamin D helps to prevent one of the most dreaded complications of SLE and likely has a role in preventing blood clots and cardiovascular disease as well," Petri noted.