Pediatr Allergy Respir Dis.  2010 Sep;20(3):173-178.

Association of Vitamin D Status with Acute Lower Respiratory Infection in Children

• Kim YJ
• Lee JS

Abstract

PURPOSE
Acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) is a common disease in children. Micronutrient deficiencies may increase the risk of ALRI. The aim of this study is to determine the association of vitamin D status with susceptibility to ALRI by comparing serum 25 hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels between a group of young children under 5 years of age with ALRI and healthy children.
METHODS
Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured in patients under 5 years of age admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia (n=40) or bronchiolitis (n=34) from October 2009 to December 2009 as well as in healthy patients of similar age without respiratory symptoms (n=54). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by electrochemileuminescence immunoassay.
RESULTS
The mean serum 25(OH)D level were similar between the ALRI and control groups (28.4+/-9.0 versus 29.1+/-7.1 ng/mL). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of 25(OH)D insufficiency between the 2 groups at 2 thresholds (for <15 ng/mL, 8.1 vs. 5.6%; P=0.19, and for <30 ng/mL, 59.5 vs. 64.8%; P=0.75).
CONCLUSION
In our study, no difference was observed in vitamin D levels between the ALRI and control groups. Therefore, Vitamin D status may not be associated with the risk of hospitalization for ALRI in children.

Keyword

Vitamin D; Pneumonia; Bronchiolitis

MeSH Terms

Bronchiolitis
Child
Hospitalization
Humans
Immunoassay
Micronutrients
Pneumonia
Prevalence
Respiratory Tract Infections
Vitamin D
Vitamins
Micronutrients
Vitamin D
Vitamins