Association between serum concentration of vitamin D and development of pneumonia

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia is a common disease with significant morbidity and mortality. There is evidence that vitamin D deficiency can be associated with an increased incidence of lower respiratory illness requiring hospitalization. The objective of this study investigated the impact of vitamin D status on the susceptibility of pneumonia in children the design is Case - Control study, Duration of this study is One year (October 2016 -November 2017) and Setting is Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad, India. In this study participants are 50 children aged 5 months to 5 years with pneumonia and 50 healthy children of the same age were studied.Methods: In this case-control study, children aged 5 months to 5 years with pneumonia were compared with healthy children of the same age as the control group. Serum levels of vitamin D in both groups were measured by chemiluminescence method. Mean serum levels of vitamin D in patients with pneumonia and control groups were compared using t test.Results: The mean serum levels of vitamin D in the group with pneumonia and the control group were 25.98±14.8 ng/mL and 31.18±15.81 ng/mL, respectively. The difference between the two groups was significant. However, this difference was more significant in the age group of 24 to 60 months.Conclusions: According to findings, a low level of Vitamin D is associated with a higher incidence of pneumonia and more severe disease. It is recommended to pay more attention to vitamin D deficiency in infectious diseases, particularly in pneumonia patients.