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Low Vitamin D
Linked to Severe Asthma, Study Shows
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Low Vitamin D
Linked to Severe Asthma, Study Shows
By Caroline
Wilbert, WebMD Health News
Low levels of vitamin D may be linked to
severity of asthma in children, according to
a new study of
participants that included 616 children with
asthma in Costa Rica between the ages of 6
and 14. Of the participants, 175 had
insufficient levels of vitamin D.
The study, published in the American Journal
of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,
examined the blood levels of vitamin D in
children with asthma. Lower levels of
vitamin D were associated with more severe
asthma.
John Brehm, MD, from Brigham and Women's
Hospital, and colleagues found that low
vitamin D levels were associated with more
asthma hospitalizations in the previous
year, more airway hyperactivity in lung
function tests, more use of
anti-inflammatory asthma medications like
inhaled steroids in the previous year, and
higher blood levels of allergy markers.
People primarily get vitamin D through their
skin, which makes it from sunlight exposure.
Also, some foods and supplements are sources
of vitamin D. The authors note that because
vitamin D deficiency can also be seen in
warmer climates with abundant sun exposure,
other factors likely also play a role.
The study doesn't establish a cause-effect
relationship, but the researchers note that
vitamin D may influence asthma in different
ways, such as its effect on the immune
system and muscle cells of the airways.
Further studies to address the potential
benefits of increasing vitamin D supplements
for asthma patients may raise important
issues, according to an accompanying
editorial written by Graham Devereux, MD, of
the department of environmental and
occupational medicine at the University of
Aberdeen.
"Ideally, any intervention study should
address the issue of dose; however, studies
supplementing with doses above those
currently recommended, although
scientifically justifiable, will raise
ethical and regulatory concerns,” Devereux
writes.
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