Journal Article

Question 1: Does vitamin D supplementation prevent acute lower respiratory tract infections in children?

Ali, Salma Rashid, McDevitt, Helen

2015

Overview

Commentary Acute LRTIs, predominantly pneumonia, are the most common cause of childhood mortality worldwide. 8 Poor nutritional status is a well-recognised cause of susceptibility to acute LRTIs in children. 9 10 Vitamin D deficiency has been strongly associated with an increased susceptibility to acute LRTIs in a number of settings. 11-15 Furthermore, studies have shown that acute LRTIs are more frequent during winter months when vitamin D synthesis is naturally reduced due to decreasing hours of sunlight. 25 There are also concerns associated with the use of large bolus doses of vitamin D. Studies have shown that serum 25(OH)D concentrations of >56 ng/mL (140 nmol/L) have been linked with compromised immune responses 26 and this may reflect the role of vitamin D in modulating innate and adaptive immune responses. A major limitation of this study, like many others, was lack of serum 25(OH)D data. [...]the exact threshold of serum concentrations needed to decrease the incidence of pathogens such as influenza A is unknown.

• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subject: Acute Disease / Asthma / Child, Preschool / Children & youth / Dietary Supplements / Evidence-Based Medicine / Followup Studies / Humans / Infections / Influenza / Information Seeking / Nutrition / Nutritional status / Pathogens / Pneumonia / Pneumonia - prevention & control / Respiratory tract / Respiratory Tract Infections - prevention & control / Search Strategies / Studies / Vitamin D / Vitamin D - therapeutic use / Vitamin deficiency