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Vitamin D and pneumonia in children in the high Ecuadorian Andes (639.11)
Author(s) -
Mokhtar Rana,
Holick Michael,
Griffiths Jeffrey,
Sempertegui Fernando,
Estrella Bertha,
Moore Lynn,
Hamer Davidson
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.639.11
Subject(s) - pneumonia , medicine , vitamin , respiratory system , vitamin d and neurology , pediatrics , randomized controlled trial , respiratory infection , gastroenterology
Background: Recent studies have explored the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and respiratory infections. The role that vitamin D deficiency plays with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) is of particular importance as pneumonia causes nearly 1.3 million deaths per year in children under 5 years. Objective: To determine the association between vitamin D status and pneumonia in children aged 6‐36 months in the Ecuadorian Andes. Design: We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, the Vitamin A and Zinc Prevention of Pneumonia (VAZPOP) study; a weight‐stratified, community‐based study involving children living near Quito, Ecuador who were randomized to receive vitamin A and/or zinc supplementation and followed for 48 weeks to determine the impact on episodes of pneumonia. ALRI was defined as an increased respiratory rate of 40 breaths per minute and/or lower respiratory secretions with at least one of the following: cough, fever, or chest retractions. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum 25(OH)D concentration <20 ng/mL and was measured using an automated immunoassay system (Immunodiagnostics Systems). Results: Of the 526 subjects who had 25(OH)D concentrations measured, 67 (13%) incident cases of pneumonia occurred over the course of 48 weeks. After controlling for treatment arm, vitamin D deficient children showed a non‐significant trend in developing pneumonia than those who were vitamin D sufficient (RR = 1.67,95%CI = 0.93‐2.98, p=0.086). Infants (<12 months) were 3.10 times more likely to develop pneumonia than children 蠅12 months (RR = 3.10, CI =1.74 ‐ 5.53, p=0.0001). Females were less likely to develop pneumonia compared to males (RR = 0.55, CI =0.31 ‐ 0.96, p=0.035). Conclusions: In Andean children, younger male children were more likely to develop an incident case of pneumonia although we found no association between vitamin D deficiency and ALRI. More research is needed to further define the association of vitamin D and pneumonia. Grant Funding Source : Supported by Sight and Life