Importance of vitamin D in gastrointestinal health and disease.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review summarizing mechanisms and clinical associations without systematic review methodology.
PubMed 42232580 · doi:10.3389/fnut.2026.1807154
What was done
The authors synthesized existing literature on vitamin D metabolism, activation, and vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression across the gastrointestinal tract and gut-lung axis. The review examined observational and mechanistic links between vitamin D status or VDR expression and conditions including eosinophilic esophagitis, gastric malignancy, Helicobacter pylori infection, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal failure, and irritable bowel syndrome.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, pooled statistics, or effect sizes. It notes that while VDR expression and vitamin D deficiency are associated with multiple gastrointestinal and respiratory pathologies, existing studies investigating VDR genetic polymorphisms and vitamin D supplementation in intestinal diseases remain largely inconclusive.
Why it matters
This review outlines the biological plausibility and clinical interest in vitamin D signaling beyond bone homeostasis into mucosal and gastrointestinal immunity. It underscores that current clinical evidence on therapeutic supplementation is inconclusive, highlighting the need for rigorous interventional research.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks systematic search criteria, quality appraisal, and meta-analytic synthesis. The abstract gives no participant numbers or quantitative metrics, and acknowledges that clinical intervention studies for intestinal conditions remain inconclusive.
Cited by
- supports The gastrointestinal tract contains receptors for vitamin D.