Vitamin D status in hidradenitis suppurativa

Funding sources: none. Dear Editor, Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disorder of follicular occlusion characterized by double comedones, painful recurrent abscesses, sinus tract formation, scarring and architectural remodelling. It is associated with cigarette smoking and obesity. The sites most commonly affected are the axillae, inguinal and submammary folds, and the perineum.1 Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a variety of nonskeletal diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and malignancies, but the evidence is deemed inconsistent and inconclusive.2 Vitamin D status is easily and accurately determined by measurement of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), and has not previously been assessed in HS. Sixteen patients (four men and 12 women) with HS were sequentially recruited after approval from the local ethics and medical research committee. The mean ± SD age was 39·1 ± 12·7 years, the mean disease duration was 14·9 ± 7·0 years and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 32·1 ± 7·2 kg m−2. Three patients had stage 3 Hurley disease, 12 had stage 2 Hurley disease and one had stage 1 Hurley disease. Ten patients were smokers. None of the patients was taking vitamin D supplements or had a history of skeletal fracture in the previous 3 years.