Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41334334›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2025

Vitamin D deficiency and neuropathic pain in chronic spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study.

Tengbin Shi, Yanfeng He, Zhengxi Yu, Jiandong Li

Abstract read
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Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tengbin Shi *Department of Orthopedics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
Yanfeng He *School of Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Zhengxi Yu *Department of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University, Putian, China.
Jiandong LiDepartment of Orthopedics, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to neuropathic pain (NeP), severely impacting patients' function and rehabilitation. Vitamin D deficiency, highly prevalent in SCI due to reduced sun exposure and mobility, has been implicated in NeP in other conditions, but its role in chronic SCI-related NeP remains unclear. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 182 adults with chronic traumatic SCI (≥6 month post-injury) currently admitted to 2 rehabilitation centers. Vitamin D status {serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]} was measured via high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). NeP was diagnosed using the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire (score ≥4/10) in combination with clinical assessment by a physician. Multivariate logistic regression, controlling for confounders (e.g., age, comorbidity, Charlson Comorbidity Index, CCI), injury severity (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale, and AIS grade), assessed the association between vitamin D levels and NeP. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to identify a predictive cutoff. Results: The prevalence of NeP was 52.7% (96/182). Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency [25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL] affected 64.8% (118/182) of participants. Lower vitamin D levels were strongly and independently associated with NeP risk. Individuals in the lowest vitamin D tertile (2.00-11.68 ng/mL) had significantly higher adjusted odds of NeP compared to those in the highest tertile (16.71-23.03 ng/mL) [adjusted odds ratio: 4.8, 95% CI: (3.4, 6.8), Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent and a strong, independent predictor of neuropathic pain in individuals with chronic SCI. These cross-sectional findings suggest routine screening for vitamin D deficiency might be indicated; however, interventional trials are needed to confirm a potential therapeutic role of vitamin D supplementation in managing SCI-related NeP.

Indexed as

chronic painneuropathic painpain measurementrehabilitationspinal cord injuryvitamin D deficiency

Identifiers

PMID41334334
PMCPMC12665539

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.