Association analysis between the serum level of vitamin D and severity of atopic dermatitis in infants

Abstract

Objective To detect the serum level of vitamin D in infants with atopic dermatitis (AD) , and to investigate the relationship between the serum level of vitamin D and severity of AD in infants. Methods Clinical data were collected from patients with moderate to severe AD (AD group) through a questionnaire survey in Children′s Hospital of Shanxi from February to April in 2016, and the severity of AD was evaluated by the SCORing atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) score. A total of 95 health checkup examinees served as the control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the serum level of 25 (OH) D3 in the AD group and control group, as well as the total serum IgE level in the AD group. Blood cell analyzer was used to determine the proportion of blood eosinophils in the AD group. Results A total of 97 patients with AD were enrolled into the study, including 43 (44.3%) patients with moderate AD and 54 (55.7%) patients with severe AD. The serum level of 25 (OH) D3 was significantly lower in the AD group than in the healthy control group ([66.71 ± 21.07]nmol/L vs.[85.43 ± 14.87]nmol/L, P 0.05) . The serum level of 25 (OH) D3 was significantly associated with breastfeeding and vitamin D supplementation (P 0.05) . Conclusion The serum level of 25 (OH) D3 is evidently decreased in infants with AD, and vitamin D deficiency is closely related to the severity of AD in infancy. Key words: Dermatitis, atopic; Infant; Vitamin D; Severity of illness index; Immunoglobulin E