Levels of 25-hydroxy Vitamin D3 and Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphism in Severe Dengue Cases from New Delhi

Dengue is the "phoenix" that never went to ashes. First identified in 1943, in Japan, dengue virus has worldwide distribution and is a grave public health concern in developing countries like India; Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among adults suspected of having dengue fever and attending Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism was completed for the detection of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism; Results: Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (vitamin D) levels were found to be 1.6 times elevated in severe dengue cases as compared to healthy controls. Vitamin D levels were significantly higher in secondary infections compared to primary infections as well as secondary severe dengue cases as compared to secondary non-severe cases (p value < 0.05). A significant association of the T allele (rs2228570) was seen in severe dengue cases, while, when comparing the A/A with A/C and C/C genotypes (rs7975232) among dengue cases and healthy controls, the odds ratio was estimated to be 1.24 (0.55-2.75, p > 0.05) and 0.28 (0.08-0.96, p < 0.05) respectively; Conclusions: The present study is an attempt at decoding the role of vitamin D in dengue disease pathogenesis and exploring the role of genetic polymorphism in dengue disease pathogenesis.