Abstract
Even though vitamin D is widely acknowledged as having a potential immunomodulatory role in asthma, its exact beneficial mechanisms are yet to be clarified. An optimal serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-VitD) level in pediatric asthma patients might not rely solely on the effect of dose-dependent vitamin D3 intake, but might also be influenced by factors related to insufficient asthma control. We aimed to survey the prevalence of serum 25-OH-VitD deficiency and analyze whether suboptimal levels were associated with asthma severity factors. The current cross-sectional study enrolled 131 pediatric asthma or asthma-suggestive recurrent wheezing patients, for whom serum 25-OH-VitD, IgE, and eosinophil count were assessed. The prevalence of suboptimal serum 25-OH-VitD was 58.8%. A suboptimal vitamin D status was associated with asthma exacerbation in the previous month (p = 0.02). Even under seasonal oral vitamin D3 supplementation, patients with a positive history of asthma attack in the previous four weeks presented significantly lower serum 25-OH-VitD concentrations, compared to their peers with no disease exacerbation. In conclusion, sequential measurements of serum 25-OH-VitD might prove useful for future studies evaluating the dynamic changes in vitamin D3 status in regard to asthma, especially in symptomatic patients.
Highlights
Bronchial asthma is the most commonly encountered chronic condition in children worldwide [1], and has shown a growing prevalence in recent years [2]
The present study looked into vitamin D3 status in pediatric asthmatic and asthma-suggestive recurrent wheezing patients from the region of Cluj County in Transylvania, Romania, and analyzed whether a suboptimal serum vitamin D3 level was related to several factors associated with unsatisfactory control of the disease
(0–85 years) from all regions of the country [22] concluded that the pediatric cohort in the first decade of age presented normal vitamin D levels, with the highest mean value of serum 25-OH-VitD3 occurring in children under three years of age
Summary
Bronchial asthma is the most commonly encountered chronic condition in children worldwide [1], and has shown a growing prevalence in recent years [2]. In light of the reported increase in hospitalization for asthma exacerbation therapy [3], poor disease management seems to be a global concern; factors influencing asthma control are under intense research. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6545; doi:10.3390/ijerph17186545 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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