Association of serum retinol and circulating inflammatory cells with disease activity in ulcerative colitis patients
ISSN: 0034-6659
Article publication date: 7 September 2018
Issue publication date: 6 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the association of serum retinol and number of circulating inflammatory cells and disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 60 patients with ulcerative colitis were enrolled in a cross-sectional pilot study. Patients were recruited from specialized clinic of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran between April and August 2015. Mayo clinic index was used to assess clinical disease activity score. Blood samples were collected. Serum retinol was assessed using HPLC to determine vitamin A status. Complete blood count and lymphocyte phenotyping were performed by automated hematology analyzer and flow-cytometric analysis, respectively.
Findings
According to Mayo scoring, 68.33 per cent of patients had mild and 31.66 per cent had moderate or severe disease activity. About 43.33 per cent of patients were vitamin A deficient, with 23.33 per cent having moderate to severe deficiency (serum retinol < 20 µg/dl). Lower levels of serum retinol and higher count and percentages of CD3+, CD8+ T cells and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio were statistically associated with disease activity according to univariate analysis (p = 0.002, 0.037, <0.001, 0.031, 0.002 and 0.039); however, in binary logistic regression, only lower levels of serum retinol were independently associated with disease activity with a OR of 0.564 (p = 0.021; 95 per cent CI 0.35-0.92).
Originality/value
Vitamin A deficiency was detected in this study population. Patients with moderate to severe disease activity demonstrated lower serum retinol, higher CD8+ T cells and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio compared to patients with mild disease activity.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all patients participated in this study and the staff of central laboratory of Shahid Ghazi hospital, Tabriz.
Research funding: This work is in part supported by Nutrition Research Center and Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.
Citation
Abedimanesh, N., Ostadrahimi, A., Abedimanesh, S., Motlagh, B. and Somi, M.H. (2019), "Association of serum retinol and circulating inflammatory cells with disease activity in ulcerative colitis patients", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 203-212. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-05-2018-0131
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited