Vitamin D supplementation: a potential booster for urticaria therapy

Chronic urticaria is a common skin condition whereby the etiology remains largely idiopathic and the mainstay therapy is symptomatic control with antihistamines. There have been a limited number of small studies suggesting a potential role for vitamin D in chronic urticaria, and this this editorial review will discuss the current supporting evidence. Associations for decreased serum vitamin 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels in subjects with chronic urticaria have been reported. In addition to observational reports, there has been a randomized, prospective, blinded trial demonstrating symptom improvement when high vitamin D3 supplementation was utilized as an add-on therapy for urticarial management. More research is needed to address mechanisms of action and to investigate vitamin D supplementation in larger and longer duration human trials. © 2014 Informa UK, Ltd.