A Case-Control Study of the Association between Vitamin D Levels and Gastric Incomplete Intestinal Metaplasia

Aim: Low circulating vitamin D levels are associated with gastric adenocarcinoma, but whether vitamin D levels are associated with premalignant gastric mucosal changes is unknown. Here, we determined associations between vitamin D levels and gastric incomplete intestinal metaplasia, a known gastric adenocarcinoma risk factor. Methods: This was a retrospective, unmatched, case-control study comparing serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels among subjects with gastric incomplete intestinal metaplasia (cases; n = 103) and those without gastric incomplete intestinal metaplasia (controls; n = 216). The 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were categorized as normal (30–100 ng/dL), vitamin D insufficiency (VDi; 20–29 ng/dL), and vitamin D deficiency (VDd; <20 ng/dL). Using multivariable logistic regression, odds ratios (ORs) were calculated and adjusted to age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus, and timing of vitamin D collection to assess associations between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and gastric incomplete intestinal metaplasia. Results: A majority of case subjects were male, Hispanic, and did not have hypertension or diabetes mellitus. The average serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was significantly lower in the intestinal metaplasia group than the control group (19.7 ng/dL vs. 34.7 ng/dL; p < 0.001). Hypovitaminosis D was more common in subjects with incomplete intestinal metaplasia in a multivariable regression model (OR 54.1, 95% CI 21.8–134.3; p < 0.001). VDd (OR 129.0, 95% CI 43.7–381.2; p < 0.001) and VDi (OR 31.0, 95% CI 11.9–80.3; p < 0.001) were more common in patients with incomplete intestinal metaplasia than healthy subjects, with VDd slightly more prevalent than VDi (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.7–9.6; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are more common in patients with gastric incomplete intestinal metaplasia than healthy subjects and may play a role in the development of premalignant phenotypes related to gastric adenocarcinoma.