Serum vitamin D concentrations are not typically assessed in patients with Crohn's disease, even though neuromuscular complaints are one of the most common complaints observed. Crohn's patients, especially with small bowel resections, are at risk for hypovitaminosis D and fatigue. Purpose: To determine if Crohn's disease patients have low serum 25(OH)D concentrations and to determine the association between 25(OH)D and measures of neuromuscular function, such as muscle strength, muscle fatigue, nerve function, and quality of health. Methods: Nineteen Crohn's patients (9 male and 10 female), with at least one small bowel resection were tested. Isometric muscle strength at 45� of knee extension and flexion, EMG fatigue rates of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis (VL), and the total physical score (PCS) and total mental score (MCS) from the SF-36 were collected. Statistics: Pearson correlations were calculated to determine the association between vitamin D and the measures of neuromuscular function. Results: The mean 25(OH)D was 32ng/ml. The Crohn's patients tested were 43.16 + 10.26 years with an average of 1.79 resections and 17.79 years with the disease. The mean peak torque (Nm) for knee extension was 75.24 + 45.39, and 28.94 + 12.76 for flexion. The mean average peak torque (Nm) for knee extension was 55.91 + 35.55, and 20.96 + 9.80 for flexion. The mean fatigue rates (Hz/sec) were -0.07 + 0.05 for RF and -0.03 + 0.04 for VL. Peroneal nerve latency mean was 4.28 + 1.75 ms and the mean amplitude was 2.26 + 2.03 mV. No significant differences at the � = 0.05 level for muscle strength, fatigue rates, nerve function, and the MCS were found. A significant (p = 0.02) positive correlation existed for the PCS (r = 0.55) of the SF-36. Conclusions: The average vitamin D concentrations were sufficient and vitamin D was not correlated to muscle strength, fatigue, or nerve function. The serum vitamin D concentrations were found to explain 30% of the variability of the PCS of their quality of health. Further studies are required to identify the exact mechanisms of the decreased strength and fatigue experience by Crohn's patients.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04122007-084839 |
| Date | 27 June 2007 |
| Creators | Salacinski, Amanda J |
| Contributors | Dr. Louis A. Pingel, Dr. John M. Jakicic, Dr. Jean L. McCrory, Dr. Miguel D. Regueiro |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04122007-084839/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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