Low Vitamin D Tied to Higher Asthma Risk Post-Bronchiolitis

TOPLINE:

Among children with a history of severe bronchiolitis during infancy, low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels (

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a prospective study to examine the association between serum 25(OH)D levels at the age of 3 years and the risk for the onset of eosinophilic asthma by the age of 6 years among children with a history of severe bronchiolitis during infancy.
• They analyzed data of 584 children (40.6% girls) with a history of severe bronchiolitis requiring hospitalization across 17 centers in the United States.
• Serum 25(OH)D levels were tested at 3 years and categorized as
• Children were divided into four groups on the basis of the 6-year status of asthma and eosinophilia: Those with eosinophilic asthma, those with non-eosinophilic asthma, those with eosinophilia without asthma, and those with neither condition.
• The associations between vitamin D status and asthma/eosinophilia outcomes were evaluated.

TAKEAWAY:

• Of the total study population, 58.2% and 28.8% of children developed eosinophilia and asthma, respectively, by the age of 6 years.
• Children with 25(OH)D levels P = .01) and eosinophilia without asthma (aOR, 1.82; P = .04) by the age of 6 years than those with 25(OH)D levels of 20-39.9 ng/mL.
• Higher continuous serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with reduced odds of developing eosinophilic asthma (aOR, 0.79; P = .02).

IN PRACTICE:

“This opens the door to future research on whether early supplementation of vitamin D in children with a history of severe bronchiolitis and eosinophilia will prevent childhood asthma,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by George Doumat, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. It was published online on January 06, 2025, in Thorax.

LIMITATIONS:

This study was limited by the single timepoint assessment of 25(OH)D levels and the lack of participants with very low or very high vitamin D levels, potentially affecting the generalizability of the data. Additionally, other factors that influence serum 25(OH)D levels and asthma were not assessed.

DISCLOSURES:

This study received support through grants from the National Institutes of Health. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.