Main demographic and clinical features of patients receiving different cholecalciferol supplementation regimens at baseline.
| Characteristic | ST, n = 84 | LLT, n = 30 | HLT, n = 40 | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 68 (60–74) | 70 (62–74) | 67 (56–69) | 0.12† |
| 25 (OH)D, nmol/l | 30.8 (18.9–47.4) | 30.0 (14.3–46.8) | 20.3 (10.1–26.1) | < 0.001† |
| PTH, pg/ml | 89.4 (77.7–129.0) | 98.5 (70.0–118.0) | 92.3 (79.1–124.0) | 0.36† |
| Calcium, mg/dl | 9.1 (8.8–9.5) | 9.2 (8.8–9.5) | 9.0 (8.7–9.4) | 0.35† |
| Phosphate, mg/dl | 3.1 (2.8–3.5) | 3.1 (2.5–3.4) | 3.2 (2.8–3.5) | 0.37† |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 24.9 (21.8–28.6) | 24.6 (23.0–26.9) | 23.9 (21.7–27.5) | 0.81† |
| Season of specimen collection* (S/S/A/W) | 16/22/23/23 | 11/5/5/9 | 12/10/8/10 | 0.48†† |
| Male/female | 13/71 | 3/27 | 9/31 | 0.36†† |
| ARD/NARD | 65/19 | 20/10 | 26/14 | 0.27†† |
| Osteoporosis** (Yes/No) | 19/65 | 11/19 | 11/29 | 0.32†† |
| Glucocorticoids (Yes/No) | 43/41 | 13/17 | 14/26 | 0.23†† |
| CRP, mg/dl | 0.6 (0.3–1.0) | 0.3 (0.1–0.9) | 0.4 (0.1–1.0) | 0.34†† |
| ESR, mm/h | 23 (12–33) | 15 (9–27) | 22 (9–34) | 0.44 †† |
↵* Spring/summer/autumn/winter.
↵** Bone mineral density with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry T-score ≤ −2.5.
↵† ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test.
↵†† Pearson chi-square. ST: standard treatment; LLT: low-dose loading treatment; HLT: high-dose loading treatment; PTH: parathyroid hormone; ARD: autoimmune/inflammatory rheumatic disease; NARD: nonautoimmune/inflammatory rheumatic disease; CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate.