Association Between Risk of Varicose Veins and Vitamin D Deficiency

Background Vitamin D has various functions in the cardiovascular system and, vitamin D deficiency has been found to be associated with some cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to examine the effects of low vitamin D levels on the risk of varicose veins. Methods Ninety patients with varicose veins and 82 healthy subjects were enrolled for this observational retrospective study. The varicose venous disease was diagnosed by physical examination and evaluated with Doppler ultrasonography. Vitamin D and magnesium levels were measured from the blood samples. Twenty‐five patients were evaluated for Factor V Leiden and PT G20210A genetic mutations. Participants were classified as vitamin D deficient (< 20 ng/mL), insufficient (20–29 ng/mL), or sufficient (≥ 30 ng/mL) according to their serum vitamin D levels. Results Vitamin D deficiency was significantly more common in the patients (77.7%) than in the controls (39%) ( p < 0.0001), and vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the patients (16.2 ± 9.8 ng/mL) compared to the controls (21.3 ± 8.8 ng/mL) ( p < 0.0001). In addition, vitamin D levels in female patients (13.9 ± 6.7 ng/mL) were significantly lower than in male patients (22.2 ± 13.7 ng/mL) ( p = 0.002) as well as in female controls (21.2 ± 8 ng/mL) ( p < 0.0001). Thrombosed vein segments and deficient levels of vitamin D were present in all patients with any thrombophilic genetic mutation. Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with the development of varicose venous disease, and it may exaggerate the effects of thrombophilic genetic mutations. Therefore, we suggest evaluating varicose vein patients, especially females, for vitamin D deficiency.