Vitamin D and Immunological Patterns of Allergic Diseases in Children

Abstract

Vitamin D, in addition to its superior role as a factor regulating calcium-phosphate metabolism, shows wide effects in other processes in the human body, including key functions of the immune system. This is due to the presence of vitamin D receptors in most cells of the human body. In our study, we aimed to assess whether there is a correlation between vitamin D content and the clinical course of allergic diseases as well as establish their immunological parameters in children. We found that vitamin D deficiency was significantly more frequent in the group of children with an allergic disease than in the control group (p = 0.007). Statistically significant higher vitamin D concentrations in blood were observed in the group of children with a mild course of the disease compared to children with a severe clinical course (p = 0.03). In the group of children with vitamin D deficiency, statistically significant lower percentages of NKT lymphocytes and T-regulatory lymphocytes were detected compared to the group of children without deficiency (respectively, p = 0.02 and p = 0.05), which highlights a potential weakness of the immune system in these patients. Furthermore, statistically higher levels of interleukin-22 were observed in the group of children with vitamin D deficiency (p = 0.01), suggesting a proinflammatory alert state. In conclusion, these results confirm the positive relationship between the optimal content of vitamin D and the lesser severity of allergic diseases in children, establishing weak points in the immune system caused by vitamin D deficiency in children.