The Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Childhood Asthma

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Asthma, a major public health issue, is one of the most common diseases affecting millions of population globally. It is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by increased airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. Vitamin D deficiency has become a global public health concern. Vitamin D is of particular interest in asthma due to its immunomodulatory effects. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency is found to be a risk factor in the development of serious chronic diseases where inflammatory mechanisms play a role in the pathogenesis. Several researches have reported positive associations between Vitamin D and asthma. On the other hand, others have reported contrasting effects of Vitamin D on asthma. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine whether asthmatic patients attending Kerbala teaching hospital for pediatrics have Vitamin D deficiency or not. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a case–control study, patients with asthma and healthy volunteers between the ages 1 and 14 years were enrolled into the study as patient and control groups, respectively. Fifty patients with asthma and 66 healthy children were included. For both groups, demographic information and body mass index were recorded. We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in serum collected from all 116 children. For asthmatic patients, clinical findings were recorded and total Immunoglobulin E (IgE) were determined for all patients. RESULTS: Fifty patients with asthma and 66 healthy children were included. Compared to the control group, decreased serum Vitamin D levels were significantly detected in patient group. Forty six (92%) of asthmatic patients have were Vitamin D insufficient, as defined by a level of 30 ng/mL or less 25-hydroxyvitamin D. In compare to the control group, forty six (69.7%) have Vitamin D insufficiency (odds ratio = 5, P < 0.001). No significant correlation was found between Vitamin D levels and age, gender, obesity, sun exposure, and dietary intake in asthmatic patients. CONCLUSION: The frequency of Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was higher in children with asthma, compared to the controls.