ABSTRACT
?AIM: To determine the vitamin D levels in vernal keratoconjunctivitis ( VKC) patients in Indian population.?METHODS:A total of 30 non-atopic healthy children and 30 children having VKC were included in the study. The serum vitamin D levels and the time spent outside was compared between the two groups ( P<0.05) .?RESULTS:The mean serum vitamin D level in the VKC group was significantly lower ( mean 19.17± 10.76 ng/mL) compared to the control group ( mean 31.19± 9.09 ng/mL) ( P = 0.0003 ) . The vitamin D levels were found to be deficient ( 10 - 20 ng/mL ) in 43.33％, whereas severe deficiency (<10 ng/mL ) was found in 20％ of the VKC patients. The deficiency of vitamin D correlated with the level of severity of VKC ( P<0.02) . The time spent outside in the VKC group was 1.07± 0.76h, whereas in the healthy subjects it was 2.08±0.72h (P<0.0001), and it showed a significant correlation with the serum 25 ( OH ) D3 levels ( r=0.478, P<0.001) .?CONCLUSION:The study shows that children with VKC had a significantly lower serum vitamin D levels as compared to the healthy children which correlated with time spent outside. The severity of VKC also correlated with the severity of vitamin D deficiency which suggests that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining ocular surface health.