Yajia Li, Ziqin Cao, Jia Guo, Qiangxiang Li, Juan Su
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 5;18(9):4911. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094911.
Urticaria is characterized by itchy wheals and/or angioedema. It is a common condition with an impact on the quality of life driven by mast cells. Numerous studies have demonstrated that serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D can impact urticaria. However, the relation between vitamin D and urticaria is not well recognized. The objective of this study was to systematically synthesize the associations of vitamin D and urticaria published until March 2021.
A systematic search was done in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Observational studies with the comparisons of vitamin D and people with urticaria and clinical studies were included.
A meta-analysis of 17 studies of urticaria patients compared to controls demonstrated a mean difference of -9.35 ng/mL in vitamin D, which complied with the association of urticaria with a deficiency in vitamin D. Studies with supplementation of vitamin D also demonstrated a significant reduction in clinical urticarial score in people supplemented with vitamin D.
In conclusion, people with urticaria may have a lower level of serum vitamin D, and vitamin D supplementation may reduce urticaria symptoms and exacerbations and improve quality of life due to vitamin D immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. However, more studies are needed to assess the clinical benefits and mechanisms of action of vitamin D in urticaria.
