Levels of 25-hydroxy Vitamin D3 and Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphism in Severe Dengue Cases from New Delhi

Background: Dengue is the "phoenix" that never went to ashes. First identified in 1943, in Japan, dengue virus has worldwide distribution and is a grave public health concern in developing countries like India; Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among adults suspected of having dengue fever and attending Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism was completed for the detection of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism; Results: Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (vitamin D) levels were found to be 1.6 times elevated in severe dengue cases as compared to healthy controls. Vitamin D levels were significantly higher in secondary infections compared to primary infections as well as secondary severe dengue cases as compared to secondary non-severe cases (p value < 0.05). A significant association of the T allele (rs2228570) was seen in severe dengue cases, while, when comparing the A/A with A/C and C/C genotypes (rs7975232) among dengue cases and healthy controls, the odds ratio was estimated to be 1.24 (0.55-2.75, p > 0.05) and 0.28 (0.08-0.96, p < 0.05) respectively; Conclusions: The present study is an attempt at decoding the role of vitamin D in dengue disease pathogenesis and exploring the role of genetic polymorphism in dengue disease pathogenesis.