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Age-Related Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with the Immune Response in Children with Community-Acquired Pneumonia
1Department of Pediatrics, Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital/Shanghai Clinical Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Insights
Most children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) have vitamin D deficiency, which is linked to immune system changes and worsens with age. This age-related deficiency may impact the immune response in pediatric CAP.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Nutritional Immunology
Background:
- Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common childhood illness.
- Vitamin D plays a crucial role in immune function.
- The relationship between vitamin D status and immune response in pediatric CAP requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine vitamin D status in children diagnosed with CAP.
- To explore the association between vitamin D deficiency and immune markers in these children.
- To assess the influence of age on vitamin D levels and immune responses in pediatric CAP.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 77 children diagnosed with CAP.
- Collection and analysis of baseline characteristics from medical records.
- Assessment of routine blood examination results, lymphocyte subsets (including CD19+ lymphocytes), and serum 25(OH)D levels from blood samples.
Main Results:
- A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was observed in 71.4% of CAP children.
- Serum 25(OH)D levels significantly decreased with increasing age.
- Vitamin D deficiency was associated with higher neutrophil percentage, lower lymphocyte percentage and count, and reduced CD19+ lymphocyte proportion.
Conclusions:
- Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in children with CAP and is negatively associated with age.
- Age-related vitamin D deficiency may contribute to altered immune responses in pediatric CAP.
- These findings highlight the potential importance of monitoring and addressing vitamin D status in children with CAP.
Abstract:
To investigate vitamin D status in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and explore the association between vitamin D deficiency and the immune response in CAP children, 77 children with CAP were retrospectively analyzed. The baseline characteristics of patients were obtained from medical records. Based on the blood samples collected during diagnosis of CAP, the routine blood examination results and proportions of lymphocyte subsets were assessed. There were 71.4% (55/77) of patients with vitamin D deficiency among CAP children. The serum 25(OH)D level significantly decreased with age. Patients with vitamin D deficiency had a significantly higher neutrophil percentage, but significantly lower lymphocyte percentage and count as well as proportion of CD19 positive lymphocytes (CD19+). Spearman's rho test further confirmed these positive correlations and negative correlations. Moreover, significant associations of vitamin D deficiency with age and the above immune markers were also confirmed by univariate logistic regression analysis. However, only age entered the backward stepwise regression model in multivariate analysis. Vitamin D status in CAP children was negatively associated with age. Age-related vitamin D deficiency may affect the immune response in children with CAP.