Prognostic value of vitamin D status in young children with viral-induced wheeze

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Recently, low serum vitamin D (VD) levels have been linked to a greater risk of recurrent respiratory tract infections. The correlation between VD status and viral-induced wheeze in young children has not been extensively studied yet. <b>Aim:</b> To investigate the relationship between VD status and the frequency of wheezing episodes in children under three years of age. <b>Methods:</b> We enrolled 60 patients with episodic wheezing (not more than two episodes in a preceding year), 60 children with recurrent wheezing (three and more episodes per year), and 30 healthy controls with no history of wheezing, all aged 6 months to 3 years. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were measured in all study participants using electrochemiluminescence. <b>Results:</b> Patients with recurrent viral-induced wheeze demonstrated significantly lower median serum 25(OH)D concentrations compared to episodic wheezers (13.68 (7.96; 19.51) ng/ml versus 33.0 (28.19; 41.97) ng/ml, respectively, p&lt;0.001). No significant differences in terms of VD levels were present between children with episodic wheezing and the healthy controls (37.96 (26.47; 43.52) ng/ml, p=0.444). We found that 75% of recurrent wheezers had VD deficiency, while the majority of episodic wheezers (66.7%) and healthy individuals (70%) possessed optimal serum 25(OH)D concentrations. VD deficiency (serum 25(OH)D below 20 ng/ml) was associated with the increased odds of recurrent wheeze (OR=4.35, 95% CI 2.75-6.86, p&lt;0.001). <b>Conclusions:</b> VD deficiency increases the risk of recurrent wheezing episodes in children under three years of age. Assessment of serum 25(OH)D levels&nbsp;may be reasonable in all young patients with recurrent viral-induced wheeze.