A Clinical Study to Evaluate the Role of Vitamin D3 in Allergic Rhinitis.

Abstract

Allergic rhinitis is a common and chronic immunoglobulin E-mediated inflammation of nasal mucosa induced after allergen exposure. Allergic rhinitis is a global health problem that causes major illness and affects patient's social life, sleep, school and work performance. Various studies have implicated the association between low serum vitamin D levels and allergic diseases. Active form of Vitamin D3 has been shown to have immunoregulatory effect on both innate and adaptive immunity, which can significantly affect the outcome of allergic responses in allergic rhinitis. The study aims to evaluate effectiveness of Oral Vitamin D3 supplementation as an adjunct to standard therapy, in the management of allergic rhinitis. The present study is a prospective study in which 80 subjects were recruited and were randomly divided into two groups. The study group received oral vitamin D3 (60,000IU) along with intranasal steroid spray while control group received only intranasal steroid spray for 4weeks. The response in both the groups was compared by evaluating total nasal symptom score (TNSS). Subjects of allergic rhinitis showed deficiency in vitamin D indicated by mean serumvitamin D levels of 15 ± 2.42ng/ml inthe study group and 14.72 ± 2.64ng/ml in thecontrol group. The pre treatment mean TNSS score was 10.45 ± 3.1 in thestudy group and 11.43 ± 2.35 in thecontrol group. The post treatment mean TNSS score was 2.1 ± 0.21 in thestudy group and 3.85 ± 0.76 in the control group. A significant reduction in symptoms score was observed after 4weeks of oral vitamin D3 supplementation. The difference between twogroups wasfound to be statistically significant (p value < 0.05).