Relationship between vitamin D status, blood pressure parameters, and inflammatory indices across different grades of hepatosteatosis

Abstract

Objectives: Both vitamin D deficiency and hepatosteatosis are recognized as significant contributors to systemic inflammation and increased cardiovascular risk. This study aimed to investigate the associations between serum vitamin D concentrations, arterial blood pressure, and novel systemic inflammatory markers across ultrasonographically staged hepatosteatosis. Methods: A total of 369 patients (188 females, 181 males; mean age: 47.92 +/- 13.10 years) with sonographically confirmed hepatosteatosis were evaluated. Participants were stratified into three groups according to the severity of liver fat accumulation: Group 1 (Grade 0; minimal), Group 2 (Grade 1; mild), and Group 3 (Grades 2-3; moderate-to-severe). Results: The mean serum vitamin D level of the cohort was 11.70 +/- 7.97 ng/mL. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and both systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r=-0.162, p=0.002) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (r=-0.155, p=0.003). Statistically significant differences among steatosis grades were observed for LDH, triglycerides, uric acid, lymphocyte count (LYM), monocyte count (MONO), and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) (p<0.05). Furthermore, red cell distribution width (RDW) was positively correlated with ALP (r=0.314, p=0.001), whereas PLR was negatively correlated with ALT levels (r=-0.164, p=0.02). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that significant variations in inflammatory markers such as PLR, LYM, and MONO across different grades of hepatosteatosis may reflect the complex interplay between metabolic dysfunction and systemic inflammation. Furthermore, lower vitamin D levels were associated with elevated blood pressure in patients with hepatosteatosis, highlighting a clinically relevant relationship between vitamin D status and cardiovascular risk in this population.