Vitamin D deficiency as adverse drug reaction? A cross-sectional study in Dutch geriatric outpatients

Purpose: Adverse drug reactions as well as vitamin D deficiency are issues of public health concern in older people. However, relatively little is known about the impact of drug use on vitamin D status. Our primary aim is to explore associations between drug use and vitamin D status in older people. Furthermore, prevalences of drug use and vitamin D deficiency are estimated. Methods: In a population of 873 community-dwelling Dutch geriatric outpatients, we explored the cross-sectional relationships of polypharmacy (≥5 medications concomitantly used), severe polypharmacy (≥10 medications), and use of twenty-one specific drug groups, with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) by analysis of covariance. Results: Overall prevalence of polypharmacy was 65 %, of severe polypharmacy 22 %. Depending on the cut-off value, prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 49 % (