Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases - Immunology and Rheumatology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Tygerberg Hospital, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
Epidemiol Infect. 2013 Mar;141(3):459-62. doi: 10.1017/S0950268812001045. Epub 2012 May 31.
Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a severe complication of tuberculosis and occurs mainly during early childhood. The incidence rate of TBM varies with season, and serum vitamin D levels, which are dependent on sunlight, might play a role. We studied the association between TBM incidence rate and hours of sunshine in Cape Town, South Africa and found a significant association between the incidence rate of TBM and hours of sunshine 3 months earlier (incidence rate ratio per 100 sunshine hours 0·69, 95% confidence interval 0·54-0·88, P = 0·002). The association supports the hypothesis that vitamin D might play a role in the pathophysiology of TBM. Further prospective studies in which vitamin D status is measured are necessary to determine causality.
结核性脑膜炎(TBM)是结核病的严重并发症,主要发生在儿童早期。TBM 的发病率随季节而变化,而血清维生素 D 水平(依赖于阳光)可能发挥作用。我们研究了南非开普敦 TBM 发病率与日照时间之间的关系,发现 TBM 发病率与 3 个月前的日照时间之间存在显著关联(每 100 小时日照时间的发病率比 0·69,95%置信区间 0·54-0·88,P=0·002)。这种关联支持了维生素 D 可能在 TBM 的病理生理学中发挥作用的假设。需要进一步进行前瞻性研究来测量维生素 D 状态,以确定因果关系。