Evaluation of the effectiveness of correction of vitamin D deficiency in adolescents with obesity and overweight

Abstract

The aim of the investigation was to study the level of vitamin D in the blood of adolescents with obesity/overweight compared with a normal body mass index of this age category. Methods. The study included 36 patients of a pediatrician or an endocrinologist who had a deficiency or insufficiency of vitamin D levels in the blood. After a month the therapy the patients included into the study passed the control analysis of the vitamin D levels. The duration of the study was a month. Results. The main group included 18 patients aged from 10 to 18 years, the control group included 18 patients of the same age. The average baseline of vitamin D in the main group in the start of the study was lower (18.39±1.31 nmol/l) compared to the control group (23.83±0.96 nmol/l, p<0.005). The initial concentration in the study groups, didn’t show the clear relationship in terms of insufficiency and deficiency. Regardless body weight, the frequency of the pathology encountered did not have significant differences in the study groups, with the exception of allergic pathology, which is probably due to the randomness of the study group sampling. When comparing the normalization of vitamin D levels in the study groups, it was found that the index had risen higher in the control group, the Mann-Whitney U-test was 96 (p <0.05). Comparing the achievement of the target level of vitamin D after a month of the therapy in the compared groups, we obtained the data that in the control group all children fully reached the target levels, regardless the form of the drug received while in the main group, only 72.2% patients achieved the target level, 27.8% adolescents did not reach it, Fisher’s exact test (two tailed) is 0.022, p<0.05. In the main group, inadequate dosages of vitamin D were taken by 72.2% of patients. Among them 55.5% of patients took higher dose and 16.7% of patients had lower one. In the control group, inadequate dosages of vitamin D were observed in 61.1% of patients: including, 22.2% higher and 38.9% were lower. Conclusion. As a result of the study, it has been found that the levels of vitamin D in overweight or obese adolescents are significantly lower than in adolescents with normal body weight living in the same region and having the similar lifestyle. The most effective method of correcting vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is the use of vitamin D medicines at the recommended dosage and regularity.