Association between serum Vitamin D levels and asthma severity and control in children and adolescents

Objective To assess the association of serum Vitamin D (vitD) levels with asthma control and severity in children and adolescents in different seasons of the year. Method Longitudinal, prospective study with 7- to 17-year-old children and adolescents diagnosed with asthma. All participants underwent two assessments conducted in opposite seasons of the year which included a clinical assessment, a questionnaire for classification of asthma control (Asthma Control Test), spirometry, and blood collection to measure serum vitD levels. Results In total, 141 individuals with asthma were evaluated. The mean vitD was lower in females (p = 0.006) and sunlight exposure appears not to be an influencing factor for vitD levels. We found no differences in mean vitD of patients with controlled and uncontrolled asthma (p = 0.703; p = 0.956). However, the severe asthma group had lower mean Vitamin D than the mild/moderate asthma group for both assessments (p = 0.013; p = 0.032). In the first assessment, the group with vitD insufficiency had a higher prevalence of severe asthma (p = 0.015). Vitamin D was positively correlated with FEV.sub.1 in both assessments (p = 0.008; p = 0.006) and with FEF.sub.25-75% in the first assessment (p = 0.038). Conclusion In a tropical climate zone, there is no evidence of association between seasonality and serum vitD levels or between serum vitD levels and asthma control in children and adolescents. However, vitD and lung function were positively correlated and the group with vitD insufficiency had a higher prevalence of severe asthma.
Author(s): Ana Paula G. Malheiro [sup.1] [sup.2], Lívea Gianfrancesco [sup.1] [sup.2], Roberto José N. Nogueira [sup.3] [sup.4], Milena B. Grotta [sup.2] [sup.3], André M. Morcillo [sup.3], José Dirceu Ribeiro [sup.2] [...]