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Is there a relationship between low vitamin D and rotaviral diarrhea?
Ibrahim Hakan Bucak1, Agah Bahadır Ozturk2, Habip Almis1
1Department of Pediatrics, Adıyaman University School of Medicine, Adıyaman, Turkey.
Insights
Low vitamin D levels are linked to rotaviral diarrhea in children. This study found significantly lower vitamin D in children with rotaviral diarrhea compared to healthy controls, highlighting a potential risk factor.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Immunology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Diarrhea causes significant mortality in children under 5 worldwide.
- Rotavirus is a primary pathogen responsible for severe pediatric diarrhea.
- Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased susceptibility to infectious diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between vitamin D levels and rotaviral diarrhea in preschool children.
- To compare serum vitamin D concentrations between children hospitalized with rotaviral diarrhea and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 70 children with rotaviral diarrhea and 67 healthy children.
- Serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D(3) (25(OH)D(3)) and other biochemical markers were analyzed.
- Factors including birthweight, feeding habits, and vitamin D supplementation were assessed.
Main Results:
- Children with rotaviral diarrhea had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D(3) levels (14.6 ± 8.7 ng/mL) compared to healthy controls (29.06 ± 6.51 ng/mL).
- Vitamin D deficiency (serum 25(OH)D(3) <20 ng/mL) was strongly associated with rotaviral diarrhea (OR, 6.3).
- No significant differences in age or gender were observed between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Low vitamin D status is significantly associated with rotaviral diarrhea in preschool children.
- This finding suggests a potential role for vitamin D in protecting against rotaviral infections.
- Further large-scale controlled studies are warranted to confirm these results.
Background:
For children under 5 years of age, 1700 000 000 episodes of diarrhea are seen worldwide, and death occurs in 700 000 of these cases due to diarrhea. Rotavirus is an important cause of diarrhea in this age group, and many studies have shown that vitamin D plays a pivotal role in the immune system, as well as in antimicrobial peptide gene expression. In addition, lower vitamin D has been correlated with higher rates of infectious diseases such as respiratory tract infection, tuberculosis, and viral infection.
Methods:
Seventy patients with rotaviral diarrhea and 67 healthy patients were enrolled in this study. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D(3) (25(OH)D(3)), parathormone, calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, complete blood count parameters, and C-reactive protein were compared between pre-school children hospitalized due to rotaviral diarrhea and healthy children. Additionally, birthweight, feeding habits in the first 6 months of life, vitamin D and multivitamin supplements, and rotaviral vaccinations were also evaluated in each group.
Results:
There were no differences between the groups with regard to gender and age, but 25(OH)D(3) was significantly different: 14.6 ± 8.7 ng/mL in the rotaviral diarrhea patients versus 29.06 ± 6.51 ng/mL in the health controls (P < 0.001), and serum 25(OH)D(3) <20 ng/mL (OR, 6.3; 95%CI: 3.638-10.909; P < 0.001) was associated with rotaviral diarrhea.
Conclusions:
Low vitamin D is associated with rotaviral diarrhea. This is the first study in the literature to show this, and this result needs to be repeated in larger controlled clinical studies.
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