Objective. To evaluate the vitamin D status of our critically ill patients and its relevance to mortality. Patients and Methods. We performed a prospective observational study in the medical intensive care unit of a university hospital between October 2009 and March 2011. Vitamin D levels were measured and insufficiency was defined as <20？ng/mL. Results. Two hundred and one patients were included in the study. The median age was 66 (56–77) and the majority of patients were male (56%). The median serum level of vitamin D was 14,9？ng/mL and 139 (69%) patients were vitamin D insufficient on admission. While we grouped the ICU patients as vitamin D insufficient and sufficient, vitamin D insufficient patients had more severe acute diseases and worse laboratory values on admission. These patients had more morbidities and were exposed to more invasive therapies during stay. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the vitamin D insufficient group compared to the vitamin D sufficient group (43% versus 26%, ). However, logistic regression analysis demonstrated that vitamin D insufficiency was not an independent risk factor for mortality. Conclusion. Vitamin D insufficiency is common in our critically ill patients (69%), but it is not an independent risk factor for mortality. 1. Introduction Although vitamin D (vit D) is classified as a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in bone metabolism, it is also a steroid hormone with pleiotropic effects. With its pleiotropic effects, vit D regulates immunity, inflammation, cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Several recent studies demonstrate a close relationship between vit D insufficiency and various systemic disorders associated with significant morbidity and mortality [1, 2]. Vitamin D insufficiency is a common global phenomenon. Its insufficiency is also reported to be common in hospitalized patients and particularly in critically ill patients [3, 4]. The incidence of vit D insufficiency in critically ill patients has been reported to range from 26% to 82% [5, 6]. This insufficiency may worsen existing immune and metabolic dysfunctions in critically ill patients, leading to worse outcomes [6, 7]. The purpose of this study was to evaluate vit D status in our critically ill patients and to demonstrate the relationship between vit D status and mortality. 2. Material and Method We performed a prospective observational study in a 9-bed medical ICU at Gazi University Hospital, Ankara (39.875°N 32.833°E, mean elevation of 938 metres-3077ft-), Turkey. The medical ICU with an
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