Association between the levels of serum vitamin D and trace elements and joint health in children with hemophilia

Hemophilia is defined as X-linked recessive bleeding disorder. Recurrent bleeding episodes lead to hemarthrosis.

Objectives: to investigate the levels of serum 25(OH) D and trace elements in children with hemophilia A and B and to identify the possible association of these factors with Hemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS). This case-control study was conducted among children with hemophilia A and B. A total of 48 cases were recruited from the hematology units at the Menoufia University Hospital (n = 36) and Sohag University Hospital (n = 12) from December 2020 to February 2022. Forty healthy controls were matched to cases on age, sex and socioeconomic status. Serum zinc and magnesium levels in the hemophilia patients were significantly lower than in the controls, while serum alkaline phosphatase levels in the cases were significantly higher than in the controls. Informed consent was obtained from all the children's parents and ethical approval was acquired from the ethical committee (ID: 5/2020PEDI38), Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University. The levels of phosphorus and calcium were the same in two groups. Serum 25(OH) D levels were deficient in 85.4% of the cases and insufficient in 14.6%. None of the hemophilia patients had sufficient levels of serum 25(OH) D. There was no significant correlation between HJHS and the levels of serum trace elements but there was a significant positive correlation between HJHS and annualized bleeding rate and a significant negative correlation between HJHS and serum vitamin D. There was no significant difference regarding the demographic data except for weight and body mass index. The patients had significantly higher weight and body mass index compared to the control group. The levels of serum vitamin D and trace elements were decreased in hemophilia patients, and these low values were associated with the worst joint health.