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Evaluation of ocular surface parameters before and after treatment in pediatric patients with vitamin D treatment
Abdulvahit Asik1, Gözde Aksoy Aydemir2, Emre Aydemir2
1Department of Pediatrics, Adıyaman University Education and Research Hospital, Adıyaman, Turkey.
Insights
Pediatric vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is linked to dry eye disease (DED) symptoms. Treatment improved DED in severe VDD cases, suggesting VDD should be considered in children with these symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is prevalent in pediatric populations.
- Ocular surface health in children with VDD requires further investigation.
- Dry eye disease (DED) symptoms can impact children's quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate post-treatment ocular surface parameters in pediatric patients with VDD.
- To assess the correlation between VDD severity and DED.
- To determine the efficacy of VDD treatment on ocular surface parameters.
Main Methods:
- Prospective case-control study involving 83 pediatric patients with VDD and 86 healthy controls.
- Evaluation of Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), Tear Film Break-up Time (Tf-BUT), Schirmer 1 test, and Conjunctival Impression Cytology (CIC).
- VDD group stratified into three subgroups based on deficiency severity; post-treatment values compared.
Main Results:
- Children with VDD exhibited significantly poorer ocular surface parameters compared to controls, indicating a higher prevalence of DED.
- The most pronounced DED symptoms and significant improvement post-treatment were observed in the subgroup with the most severe VDD (VDD sub-Group 1).
- No significant improvement in ocular surface parameters was noted after treatment in the subgroup with the least severe VDD (VDD sub-Group 3).
Conclusions:
- Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pediatric dry eye disease (DED).
- Severe VDD can exacerbate DED symptoms in children.
- Treatment of VDD may lead to improvement in ocular surface parameters and DED symptoms, particularly in severe cases.
Background:
To conduct an evaluation of the post-treatment ocular surface parameters in the pediatric patient group with vitamin D deficiency (VDD).
Methods:
This prospective and also case-control research consisted of 83 pediatric patients who had been diagnosed with VDD in the VDD Group and 86 healthy controls in the healthy control group (HC Group). Ocular surface disease index (OSDI), tear film break-up time (Tf-BUT), Schirmer 1 test, and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) were evaluated in all of the study participants. The VDD group was then also divided further into 3 sub-groups according to the level of VDD. Post-treatment values were compared.
Results:
All parameters favored dry eye disease (DED) in the VDD Group compared to the HC Group. In the sub-group analysis, this difference was most pronounced in VDD sub-Group 1, and a significant change was seen in this group after treatment (with all of them at p < 0.05). In VDD sub-Group 3, no significant change was observed after treatment (with all of them at p > 0.05).
Conclusions:
Underlying VDD should be questioned in children who present to the ophthalmologist with DED symptoms. Severe VDD may exacerbate these symptoms and improve with treatment.
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