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Vitamin-D deficiency predicts infections in young north Indian children: A secondary data analysis

Ranadip Chowdhury1, Sunita Taneja1, Nita Bhandari1

  • 1Centre for Health Research and Development, Society for Applied Studies, New Delhi, India.

Plos One
|March 9, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Vitamin D deficiency is common in young children and increases the risk of acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI). Further research is needed to understand vitamin D

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Science
  • Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Background:

  • Vitamin D deficiency is linked to increased respiratory infections and diarrhea in children.
  • Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) and diarrhea are leading causes of mortality in children under five.
  • This study investigates vitamin D deficiency as a predictor for ALRI, pneumonia, and diarrhea in young children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the association between vitamin D deficiency and the incidence of ALRI, clinical pneumonia, and diarrhea.
  • To assess the predictive value of vitamin D deficiency (<10 ng/ml) in children aged 6 to 30 months.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving folic acid and/or vitamin B12 supplementation in children aged 6 to 30 months in Delhi, India.
  • Employed Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to analyze the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and occurrences of ALRI, pneumonia, and diarrhea.
  • Controlled for confounding factors including age, sex, breastfeeding, nutritional status, and season.

Main Results:

  • Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent, affecting 34.5% of the 960 children studied.
  • Vitamin D deficiency was significantly associated with an increased risk of ALRI (OR 1.26; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.55) after adjusting for confounders.
  • No significant association was found between vitamin D status and episodes of diarrhea or clinical pneumonia.

Conclusions:

  • Vitamin D deficiency is a common condition among young children in New Delhi.
  • Vitamin D deficiency is linked to a higher risk of developing acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI).
  • Further research is required to fully understand the role of vitamin D in the health of Indian children.
Abstract

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