Vitamin D deficiency is associated with poorer lung function in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids, according to a study.
In a study of 1,024 children with mild to moderate persistent asthma who had received inhaled corticosteroid treatment for a year, those who were deficient in vitamin D showed less improvement in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second, Ann Chen Wu, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, said in a news release.
"These results indicate that vitamin D supplementation may enhance the anti-inflammatory properties of corticosteroids in patients with asthma," Wu said.
The study was conducted using data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program, a multicenter trial of asthmatic children between ages 5 and 12 who were randomly assigned to treatment with budesonide, nedocromil or placebo. Vitamin D levels were categorized as deficient (less than 20 nanograms per milliliter), insufficient (20 to 30 ng/ml) or sufficient (more than 30 ng/ml).
Among children treated with inhaled corticosteroids, pre-bronchodilator FEV1 increased during 12 months of treatment by 330 milliliters in the vitamin D insufficiency group and 290 milliliters in the vitamin D sufficiency group, but only 140 milliliters in the vitamin D deficiency group.
Compared with children who were vitamin D sufficient or insufficient, children who were vitamin D deficient were more likely to be older and African American and to have a higher body mass index. Compared with being vitamin D deficient, being vitamin D sufficient or insufficient was associated with a greater change in pre-bronchodilator FEV1 over 12 months of treatment after adjustment for age, gender, race, BMI, history of ED visits and season in which the vitamin D specimen was drawn.
The study had some limitations, including a small sample size of 101 vitamin D-deficient children, and the investigators studied vitamin D levels only at one time point.
"Our study is the first to suggest that vitamin D sufficiency in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids is associated with improved lung function," Wu said. "Accordingly, vitamin D levels should be monitored in patients with persistent asthma being treated with inhaled corticosteroids. If vitamin D levels are low, supplementation with vitamin D should be considered."
The study appeared July 12 on the website of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society. To read the abstract and access the study via subscription or purchase, visit http://bit.ly/Nh5vpC.
In a study of 1,024 children with mild to moderate persistent asthma who had received inhaled corticosteroid treatment for a year, those who were deficient in vitamin D showed less improvement in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second, Ann Chen Wu, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, said in a news release.
"These results indicate that vitamin D supplementation may enhance the anti-inflammatory properties of corticosteroids in patients with asthma," Wu said.
The study was conducted using data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program, a multicenter trial of asthmatic children between ages 5 and 12 who were randomly assigned to treatment with budesonide, nedocromil or placebo. Vitamin D levels were categorized as deficient (less than 20 nanograms per milliliter), insufficient (20 to 30 ng/ml) or sufficient (more than 30 ng/ml).
Among children treated with inhaled corticosteroids, pre-bronchodilator FEV1 increased during 12 months of treatment by 330 milliliters in the vitamin D insufficiency group and 290 milliliters in the vitamin D sufficiency group, but only 140 milliliters in the vitamin D deficiency group.
Compared with children who were vitamin D sufficient or insufficient, children who were vitamin D deficient were more likely to be older and African American and to have a higher body mass index. Compared with being vitamin D deficient, being vitamin D sufficient or insufficient was associated with a greater change in pre-bronchodilator FEV1 over 12 months of treatment after adjustment for age, gender, race, BMI, history of ED visits and season in which the vitamin D specimen was drawn.
The study had some limitations, including a small sample size of 101 vitamin D-deficient children, and the investigators studied vitamin D levels only at one time point.
"Our study is the first to suggest that vitamin D sufficiency in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids is associated with improved lung function," Wu said. "Accordingly, vitamin D levels should be monitored in patients with persistent asthma being treated with inhaled corticosteroids. If vitamin D levels are low, supplementation with vitamin D should be considered."
The study appeared July 12 on the website of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society. To read the abstract and access the study via subscription or purchase, visit http://bit.ly/Nh5vpC.
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