Vitamin D, bone mineral density and body mass index in eating disorder patients

Aim: To investigate associations of vitamin D with BMD and BMI in ED patients. Methods: Vitamin D, BMD and BMI for 50 patients admitted to a specialised ED inpatient unit were measured. Patients were aged 15-54 years with BMI 8-25 kg/m(2). Results: Of the patients, 18% were vitamin D deficient. There was a significant linear relationship between vitamin D and BMD T-score at the lumbar spine (p = 0.029), femoral neck (p<0.001) and total hip (p = 0.001). There was no relationship between vitamin D and BMI. There was a significant linear relationship between BMI and BMD T-score at the lumbar spine (p<0.001), femoral neck (p = 0.008) and total hip (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Low vitamin D and low BMI are associated with low BMD in ED patients. Despite widespread belief that it is not necessary, our findings suggest it is appropriate to measure vitamin D in ED patients. It should not be assumed ED patients take supplements. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.