THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VERRUCA VULGARIS AND VITAMIN D: IS THERE A CASUAL LINK?

COŞKUN ÖZTEKIN¹, AYNURE ÖZTEKIN², KENAN TAŞTAN³, GÜLSEN GÜL ÖZMEN⁴, SUZAN DEMIR PEKTAŞ⁵

¹MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Hitit University Medical School, Çorum, Turkey - ²MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Hitit University Medical School, Çorum, Turkey - ³MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Atatürk University Medical School, Erzurum, Turkey - ⁴MD, Ali Osman Sönmez Onkology State Hospital, Department of Biochemistry, Bursa, Turkey - ⁵MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Medical School, Muğla, Turkey

Introduction: Verruca vulgaris is a well-known skin lesion caused by human papillomavirus. There are topical, local invasion and immune therapy options for verruca vulgaris. The role of vitamin D levels in patients with verruca vulgaris is not clear. We investigated the serum vitamin D levels in patients with verruca vulgaris.

Materials and methods: Fifty-five patients with verruca vulgaris (Group I) and 60 healthy controls (Group II) included in the study. The characteristics of verruca vulgaris (duration, clinical type, the number of lesions, family history) and demographics of the participants were recorded. Serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol levels were measured using electrochemiluminescence binding method.

Results: After covariance analysis, we found no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean age (23.38±4.68 years in Group I versus 27.35±8.14 years in Group II). Other baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the groups (p > 0.05 for all). The mean duration of verruca vulgaris was 12 (4-18) years and the most common sites were hand (26 patients, 47.3%) and foot (23 patients, 41.8%). Serum vitamin D levels were 8.35±6.03 ng/ml in Group I and 18.08±10.01 ng/ml in Group II. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of serum vitamin D levels (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: In this study, vitamin D levels in patients with verruca vulgaris were found to be decreased compared to healthy controls. Low vitamin D levels may play an etiological role in the development of verruca vulgaris.