Associations of Vitamin D Levels and Asthma in Children

Abstract

This paper addresses studies from the scientific literature that explored the associations of levels of vitamin D in women during pregnancy and their children with the development and improvement of childhood asthma. Over the past decade the interest in associations between levels of vitamin D and onset of childhood asthma has been on the rise. Because of growing scientific evidence based on epidemiological studies examining the associations between vitamin D levels and onset of childhood asthma, methodology of the previous studies can be roughly divided in three separate concepts to better appreciate the available data: 1) asthma outcomes relative to maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy; 2) asthma outcomes relative to maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy; 3) asthma outcomes relative to vitamin D levels in children. Studies pertaining to each of the groups are reviewed and critically discussed.

Conclusion – While current evidence of the association between vitamin D levels and development of childhood asthma is inconsistent, we cannot consider that inadequate levels of vitamin D in pregnancy and in children are causally related to onset of asthma and/or asthma exacerbations. Suggested serum levels of vitamin D of >75 nmol/L should be the goal  concentration for optimum physiologic functioning.