<b><i>Background and Aims:</i></b> Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with disease activity in Crohn’s disease (CD). We assessed whether there is a correlation between vitamin D levels and the risk of postoperative recurrence in CD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> CD patients who underwent surgery were identified from a prospectively maintained database at the University of Chicago. The primary endpoint was the correlation of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels measured at 6–12 months after surgery and the proportion of patients in endoscopic remission, defined as a simple endoscopic score for CD of 0. Clinical, biological (C-reactive protein), and histologic recurrences were also studied. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Among a total of 89 patients, 17, 46, and 26 patients had vitamin D levels of <15, 15–30, and >30 ng/mL, respectively. Patients with higher vitamin D levels were significantly more likely to be in endoscopic remission compared to those with lower levels (23, 42, and 67% in ascending tertile order; <i>p</i> = 0.028). On multivariate analysis, vitamin D >30 ng/mL (odds ratio [OR] 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.07–0.66, <i>p</i> = 0.006) and anti-tumor necrosis factor agent treatment (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08–0.83, <i>p</i> = 0.01) were associated with reduced risk of endoscopic recurrence. Rates of clinical, biological, and histologic remission trended to be higher in patients with higher vitamin D levels (<i>p</i> = 0.17, 0.55, 0.062, respectively). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In the present study, higher vitamin D level was associated with lower risk of postoperative endoscopic CD recurrence. Further, studies are warranted to assess the role of vitamin D in postoperative CD recurrence.
Myenteric plexitis is a risk factor for endoscopic and clinical postoperative recurrence after ileocolonic resection in Crohn's disease
