A STUDY ON VITAMIN D LEVELS IN CHILDREN WITH BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most commonly prevalent chronic illnesses among children according to the World Health Organization report. a number of studies suggested the possible role of Vitamin D in the pathophysiology of childhood asthma. Despite the overwhelming evidence linking Vitamin D and asthma, there are still insufficient studies among Asian countries, especially India. Hence, the study was conducted with the aim of establishing the relationship between vitamin D levels and asthma. Materials And Methods: This Case control study was conducted in the Department of Pediatric, SRM Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre.Children aged 3 to 12 years Bronchial Asthma were included in the study. The data collection for the study was done from January 2017 to June 2018 for a period of 1 year & 6 months. All the eligible subjects were recruited into the study consecutively by convenient sampling till the sample size is reached.All the relevant parameters were documented in a structured study proforma.Blood samples were collected for serum vitamin D levels were taken. Results:A total 120 people were included in the analysis.Among the people with cases group, the median age was 50 months (IQR 40 to 62) and it was 62 months (IQR 48 to 85.50) in people with control group. In cases group, 28 (46.7%) participants were male and remaining 32 (53.3%) participants were female. Among the people with control group, 30 (50%) participants were male and remaining 30 (50%) participants were female. The mean vitamin D was 15.94 ng/ml ? 4.24 in cases group and 31.01 ng/ml ? 20.25 in control group. The difference between two groups was statistically significant (P value <0.001). The mean serum calcium was 9.18 mg/dl ? 0.80 in cases group and 9.05 mg/dl ? 0.70 in control group. The difference between two groups was statistically not significant (P value 0.355). Conclusion: In this study, the cases were younger than the controls on average and consisted of a slightly greater proportion of females. This implies the increasing burden of asthma in a predominantly younger age group. The mean serum calcium was less in cases group.This indicates the need for further research, investigating the multiple factors involved in asthma control among pediatric age group.