Vitamin D and First Episode Psychosis
Poster B5, Tuesday, October%209, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
Richard Whale1,2, Emily Bailey2, Emily Simmons2, Emma Cook2, Daniel Titheradge2; 1Brighton and Sussex Medical School, 2Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Vitamin D is a regulator of calcium metabolism, essential for bone health, and acts as a neuro-steroid with roles in brain development and ageing. Emerging evidence implicates Vitamin D deficiency in the aetiology of psychosis. This study aimed to explore rates of Vitamin D deficiency in patients with diagnosed FEP in Brighton, UK 50°49'N latitude. Blood samples for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were collected from 140 patients between September 2016 and March 2017. The cohort was stratified into individuals at high- and low-risk of deficiency according to the 2014 UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Levels were classified as deficiency (<25nmol/L), inadequate (25-<50nmol/L), adequate (50-<120nmol/L), and high (>120nmol/L). The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS, 2008/09-2011/12) was used as a UK population reference sample. Primary stratification categorised 31% patients as high-risk of Vitamin D deficiency, and 69% low-risk, with significant difference in mean blood Vitamin D levels between groups (p= 0.005). In the low-risk group, deficiency was still found in 3 cases (8%) and insufficiency in a further 10 cases (25%). Our cohort demonstrated significantly higher mean Vitamin D levels than the NDNS population sample (p= 0.002). Contrary to prevailing literature our cohort demonstrated higher Vitamin D levels than the UK population. Vitamin D deficiency may have a role in psychosis aetiology in some cases. National guidance on stratifying risk of deficiency was valid in our population but inadequate to guide replacement.
Topic Area: Epidemiology