Impact of the etiology and Vitamin D receptor TaqI rs731236 gene polymorphism on the severity of acute pancreatitis

Background/Purpose This work aimed to assess the impact of different etiologies of acute pancreatitis (AP) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) TaqI rs731236 gene polymorphism on the severity of AP. Methods This case‐control study included 70 patients with AP and 40 healthy controls. Etiologies of AP were identified by imaging, ANA, cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM, coxsackie B virus IgM, and IgG4. Genotyping of VDR TaqI rs731236 polymorphism, Laboratory tests and severity scores using Ranson, BISAP, Atlanta and APACHE II scores were determined. Results The age in AP patients was 36.03 ± 10.76, and females were 85.7%. The etiologies of AP were as follows: biliary (51.4%), coxsackievirus (22.9%), autoimmune (14.3%), post‐ERCP (8.6%) and 2.9% were idiopathic. The TT genotype of VDR polymorphism was significantly more common in AP than control (P = .001) and allele T dominated in AP group (OR = 2; 95% CI: 0.665–5.64). Most cases showed low severity scores with significant differences among etiologies and VDR genotypes. Biliary pancreatitis showed highest percentages of severe AP. However, etiologies and VDR polymorphism were not predictors of severity. Conclusion Etiology of AP could have impact on the disease severity. VDR gene polymorphism increases the risk of AP. Neither the etiology nor VDR gene polymorphism could predict AP severity. Highlight This case‐control study showed the predominance of the TT genotype of vitamin D receptor TaqI rs731236 gene polymorphism in severe acute pancreatitis. While the etiology of acute pancreatitis may affect disease severity, El‐Mahdy and colleagues revealed that neither the etiology nor vitamin D receptor TaqI rs731236 gene polymorphism predicted severity.