Vitamin D supplementation: still a challenge for rheumatologists!

There is consensus around vitamin D in patients with osteoporosis: considerable data have shown that vitamin D may be favourable in the elderly because of a positive effect on bone health and muscle strength. However, in the field of rheumatology, there are still unresolved items: (i) low vitamin D levels are associated with higher disease activity in patients with inflammatory arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis [RA], systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], spondyloarthritis [SpA], and psoriatic arthritis [PsA]) and (ii) vitamin D supplementation (2000 IU/d) seems to reduce the risk of new inflammatory diseases. We discussed these data because they are new and relevant for rheumatologists in their daily practice, and the potential favourable effects of higher dosages of vitamin D in patients with inflammatory arthritis should be high on the research agenda.