HYPOVITAMINOSIS D IN PSYCHOGERIATRIC INPATIENTS

Objectives: This study investigated the rate of hypovitaminosis d in psychogeriatric inpatients and explored whether any associations exist between vitamin d levels, cognitive function, and psychiatric diagnoses. Design: retrospective medical record review from november 2000 through november 2010. Setting: Geriatric psychiatric ward of an academic tertiary care hospital. Participants: psychiatric inpatients aged 65 years or older. Measurements and analysis methods: serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d [25(OH)d] levels were measured at admission. associations between 25(OH)d levels, Mini-Mental state examination (MMse) scores were analyzed using spearman correlations, and psychiatric diagnoses were analyzed using logistic regression models and Fisher’s exact tests. Results: In 141 subjects (mean age, 77.8 years; 86 [61%] female; 135 [96%] white), the most frequent diagnoses were major depressive disorder in 81 patients (57%), dementia in 38 (27%), delirium in 13 (9%), anxiety in 12 (8.5%), and bipolar disorder in 11 (8%). Mean MMse score was 24±6.4 (range, 3-30). Forty-three subjects (30.4%) had mild to moderate vitamin d deficiency [25(OH)d, 10-24 ng/mL], and 6 (4.2%) had severe deficiency [25(OH)d <10 ng/mL]. Conclusions: Hypovitaminosis d was common in elderly psychiatric inpatients. no associations were found between vitamin d levels and global cognitive function or psychiatric diagnoses