PMC: PMC4176007
/PMC/2026
Why It Matters
This caught my attention because vitamin D is one of the most measurable and modifiable immune factors we can track. The data suggests maintaining adequate vitamin D levels (>20 ng/mL, ideally >30 ng/mL) might matter for immune defense beyond just bone health. That said, this is observational — it shows association, not causation. We don't know if low vitamin D causes TB susceptibility or if TB infection depletes vitamin D.
Key Findings
- 70% of TB patients had vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) versus 43% of healthy controls
- Patients with vitamin D deficiency showed 2.9-fold increased odds of active TB disease (95% CI: 1.9-4.4)
- Mean vitamin D levels were 18.2 ng/mL in TB patients compared to 24.6 ng/mL in controls, a 26% difference
- The association remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and socioeconomic factors
- No intervention data provided — this is observational only, so causation cannot be established
Read the Paper↗PMC4176007