Low Vitamin D Could Hamper Babies’ Breathing
Lee Swanson Research Update
The body produces vitamin D in response to sunlight, and the nutrient has long been linked to stronger bones. In the study, published in the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Carlos Camargo and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston looked at data on more than 1,000 children in New Zealand. Levels of a marker for vitamin D were measured in umbilical cord blood samples taken at birth and mothers were asked about their children’s respiratory troubles up to five years of age.
More than 20% of the blood samples came in as "very low" for vitamin D status, the research team said.
Low vitamin D levels at birth were linked to a doubling of risk for respiratory infections at the age of three months, compared to newborns with higher levels of the nutrient in their blood. There was no significant link between levels of the vitamin D marker and asthma diagnosed by the age of five years, however.
"Our data suggest that the association between vitamin D and wheezing, which can be a symptom of many respiratory diseases and not just asthma, is largely due to respiratory infections," Camargo said. He also did not rule out a vitamin D/asthma link.
"Since respiratory infections are the most common cause of asthma exacerbations, vitamin D supplements may help to prevent those events, particularly during the fall and winter when vitamin D levels decline and exacerbations are more common," Camargo said. "That idea needs to be tested in a randomized clinical trial, which we hope to do next year."
Jan. 2011
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