The role of vitamin D as an immunosuppressant and anti-inflammatory has been studied previously for different pathologies in different populations globally. Relationships between serum vitamin D levels and its effect on asthma exacerbations in the adolescent asthma population are not well studied in this region. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the vitamin D status in pediatric and adolescent asthma patients, and its association with asthma exacerbations. A retrospective study was conducted at The Aga Khan University Hospital from 2016 to 2020. Children and adolescents who were diagnosed and admitted with acute asthma exacerbations and who had at least one measurement of 25 hydroxy-vitamin D (25 OHD) were included in the study. Serum vitamin D levels were documented for enrolled patients and their past 2-year data was analyzed for asthma exacerbations, mean length of stay per admission, and admission plus length of stay at High Dependency Unit. 114 patients were included in the study. 41 patients (35.96%) were found to be Vitamin D deficient, 38 patients (33.3%) were Vitamin D insufficient, and 35 patients (30.7%) were labeled as Vitamin D sufficient. The average number of exacerbations per year was significantly high in Vitamin D deficient group (2.82±1.11) in comparison with insufficient (2.05±0.92) and sufficient groups (1.37±0.59) (p<0.001). Vitamin D deficiency is related to an increased number of annual asthma exacerbations, length of stay per admission, and admission into High Dependency Unit (HDU).

The prevalence and incidence of asthma continue to rise globally. Obesity has been identified as a potential risk factor for asthma exacerbations. The association between body mass index (BMI) and asthma is not well studied in some regions. This study aims to investigate the impact of BMI in pediatric asthmatic patients. This retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital from 2019 to 2022. Children and adolescents with asthma exacerbation were included. The patients were classified into four groups based on their BMI: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. The demographic characteristics, medications used, predicted FEV1 measurements, asthma exacerbations per year, length of stay per admission, and the number of patients requiring High Dependency Unit (HDU) care were recorded and analyzed. Our results demonstrated that patients in the healthy weight category had the highest percentage of FEV1 (91.46±8.58) and FEV1/FVC (85.75±9.23) (p<0.001). The study found a significant difference in the average number of asthma exacerbations per year between the four groups. Obese patients had the highest number of episodes (3.22±0.94), followed by the underweight group (2.42±0.59) (p<0.01). The length of stay per admission was significantly shorter for patients with a healthy weight (2.0±0.81), and there was a statistically significant difference observed in the number of patients requiring HDU care among the four groups, as well as in the average length of stay at the HDU (p<0.001). Elevated BMI is related to an increased number of annual asthma exacerbations, a low FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, increased length of stay at admission, and increased stay in the HDU.