Vitamin D and the risk of latent tuberculosis infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) may be a risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) and thus a health hazard. The aim of this meta-analysis is to explore the association between vitamin D and LTBI.

Databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and ProQuest were electronically searched to identify observational or interventional studies that reported the association between vitamin D and LTBI. The retrieval time is limited from inception to 30 September 2021. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed risk bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by using STATA 12.0 software.

A total of 5 studies involving 2 case-control studies and 3 cohort studies were included. The meta-analysis result showed that the risk of LTBI among individuals was not associated with high vitamin D level (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.05-5.65, P = 0.58). The result from cohort studies also suggested that relatively high vitamin D level was not a protective factor for LTBI (RR = 0.56, 95%CI 0.19-1.67, P = 0.300).

Our meta-analysis suggested that serum vitamin D levels were not associated with incidence of LTBI, and relatively high serum vitamin D level was not a protective factor for LTBI. Further RCTs are needed to verify whether sufficient vitamin D levels and vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of LTBI.