Children who wheezed were 2.7X more likely to have little vitamin D

Subnormal levels of vitamin D are associated with acute wheeze in young children

Acta Paediatrica, DOI: 10.1111/apa.12666

Katarina Stenberg Hammar 1,2,*, Gunilla Hedlin 1,2, Jon R. Konradsen1,2, Björn Nordlund1,2, Inger Kull3,4, Christian G. Giske5, Christophe Pedroletti6, Cilla Söderhäll7 andErik Melén3,8

1Astrid Lindgren Children′s Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

2Department of Women′s and Children′s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

3Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

4Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

5Clinical Microbiology, MTC, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

6Department of Women′s and Childrens′s Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

7Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

8Sachs′Children′s Hospital, Södersjukhuset, All belong to The Centre for Allergy Research at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

• Address correspondence to: Katarina Stenberg Hammar, Allergy Research Unit, Astrid Lindgren Children′s Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. [email protected]]Tel: + 46 70 780 34 38

Aim

This study evaluated risk factors for acute wheeze in preschool children and investigated if subnormal levels of vitamin D were associated with increased risk for acute wheeze, atopy or viral/bacterial respiratory infections.

Methods

We recruited 130 children with acute wheeze, aged six months to four years, from paediatric emergency departments in Stockholm, Sweden, and 101 age-matched controls with no history of wheeze or sensitisation to airborne allergens. Parents answered standardised questionnaires and blood samples were analysed for specific IgE to airborne and food allergens and levels of 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). Nasopharyngeal virus samples were collected during the emergency department visit in the group of children with wheeze and a subset were also tested for bacteria.

Results

Vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH)D <75nmol/L (30 ng/mL) was associated with an odds ratio of 2.7 (95% confidence interval 1.1-6.2) for acute wheeze. However, no association was found between vitamin D insufficiency and atopy, presence of virus or bacteria or recurrent infections. Children older than 24 months were particularly at risk of subnormal vitamin D levels, irrespective of wheezing history.

Conclusion

Our findings support the hypothesis that subnormal levels of vitamin D are associated with acute wheeze in young children.

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