The Role of Vitamin D in the Relationship Between Gender and Deep Vein Thrombosis Among Stroke Patients.

Accumulating evidence had demonstrated that females had a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) than males, but the mechanism was still unknown. Vitamin D was found to play an essential role in DVT, and gender may influence the serum vitamin D levels. This study aimed to explore whether vitamin D played a role in the gender difference in DVT. A total of 444 patients with acute stroke were recruited, which were divided into the DVT group ( = 222) and the non-DVT group ( = 222). Serum vitamin D levels were measured after admission and were split into three categories, including deficiency (<50 nmol/L), insufficiency (52.5-72.5 nmol/L), and sufficiency (more than 75 nmol/L). Hierarchical regression analysis was adopted to analyze the relationship between gender and DVT, controlling the confounding factors. Females showed a higher proportion of DVT than males (60.7 vs. 42.5%, < 0.001), and lower serum vitamin D levels than males (53.44 ± 16.45 vs. 69.43 ± 23.14, < 0.001). Moreover, serum vitamin D levels were lower in the DVT group than in the non-DVT group (59.44 ± 19.61 vs. 66.24 ± 23.86, < 0.001). Besides, the DVT group showed a lower proportion of vitamin D sufficiency than the non-DVT group (21.2 vs. 32.9%, < 0.05). Hierarchical regression analysis showed that females had 2.083-fold ( < 0.001, unadjusted model) and 1.413-fold ( = 0.155, adjusted model) risk to develop DVT. In addition, the sufficiency status of vitamin D showed an independent protective effect on DVT (unadjusted model OR, 0.504, = 0.004; adjusted model OR, 0.686, = 0.011). Females had a higher risk of DVT than males, and vitamin D may play an essential role in this relationship. Further studies are needed to explore whether vitamin D supplementation could reduce DVT risk in stroke patients, especially females.