The relationship between serum vitamin D levels and asthma in children referred to the pediatric clinics in Isfahan during 2012-2013

Asthma is the most common childhood chronic disease. The increased prevalence of the disease has been contributed in conducting the various studies on the mechanism of asthma. One of the main factors that are assumed to be more effective in asthma is serum vitamin D level. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the serum vitamin D level among the asthmatic children (5-15 years) in Isfahan during 2012-2013. This study was conducted on children referred to the pediatric clinics in Isfahan during 2012-2013. Children with and without asthma were divided into the case and control groups, respectively. Then, the serum level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D was measured. This study included 196 asthmatic and 200 non-asthmatic children. The vitamin D levels were 25.79±17.42 and 30.33±16.37 for the case and control groups, respectively; this difference was statistically significant (P<0.008). Moreover, 59.7% of the patients with asthma and 46% in the control group were vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D levels in severe and non-severe (mild and moderate) asthma were 24.75±15.90 and 26.26 ± 18.10, respectively. No significant correlation was found between the asthma severity and vitamin D level (P= 0.3). Due to the low levels of vitamin D among the asthmatic patients, the regular control of serum vitamin D is recommended to treat the patients in case of deficiencies. Also, life style and food diet should be modified and directed towards eliminating the nutritional deficiencies in the society.