Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vitamin D levels linked to white blood cells in sick cats
By Titmarsh, Helen F et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2017·1 Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Relationship between vitamin D status and leukocytes in hospitalised cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of sick cats in the hospital were tested for vitamin D levels and white blood cell counts to see if there was a connection. The study found that cats with higher levels of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell that increases during inflammation) had lower vitamin D levels compared to those with normal neutrophil counts. However, there was no significant difference in vitamin D levels related to other types of white blood cells. This suggests that low vitamin D might be linked to inflammation, but more research is needed to understand the relationship better.
People also search for: cat vitamin D deficiency symptoms · sick cat neutrophil count · cat inflammation treatment
Abstract
Objectives Vitamin D deficiency, as assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations, has been linked to markers of systemic inflammation in human and canine medicine. However, the relationship between vitamin D status and inflammation has not been previously investigated in cats. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and leukocyte counts in hospitalised sick cats. Methods Serum 25(OH)D concentrations and haematology profiles were measured in 170 consecutive hospitalised sick cats. A binary logistical regression model examined the relationship between serum 25(OH)D concentration, age, sex, breed and neutrophil, monocyte, eosinophil and lymphocyte counts. Results Cats with neutrophilia had lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations than cats with neutrophil concentrations below the upper limit of the reference interval (RI). There were no differences in serum 25(OH)D concentrations in cats with monocyte, lymphocyte or eosinophil counts above their respective RI compared with cats with counts below the upper limit of the RI. Conclusions and relevance Hospitalised cats with a neutrophil count above the RI had lower vitamin D status. There is a need to establish whether lower vitamin D status is a cause or consequence of increased neutrophil counts.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26795125/