Vitamin D insufficiency among hospitalised children in the Northern Territory

Abstract

Vitamin D insufficiency was observed in almost one-third of these hospitalised children. Children hospitalised with an ALRI were less likely to have vitamin D insufficiency compared with children hospitalised for other conditions (predominantly gastroenteritis).

Prognostic value of vitamin D in patients with pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Indeed, individuals with vitamin D deficiency have impaired immune function and thus are at higher risk of infections [38,39]. Some observational studies have found that patients with pneumonia usually have lower level of vitamin D than those without pneumonia, suggesting that vitamin D may be involved in vulnerability to pneumonia [32][33][34]. In the metaanalysis carried out in this study, it was directly established that vitamin D is a prognostic biomarker in pneumonia patients.…”

“…However, after reading the titles and abstracts, only 12 studies were selected and then scrutinized by full-text reviews [24][25][26][27][28][29][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Among these 13 studies, 7 studies were further excluded for not reporting data on the outcomes of interest [31][32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

Cord blood vitamin D and the risk of acute lower respiratory infection in Indigenous infants in the Northern Territory

“…In Far North Queensland, a small study of pregnant women at mid‐gestation (93 non‐Indigenous and 23 Indigenous women) found that only eight (7%) had 25(OH)D values under 75 nmol/L 12 . While little is known about the vitamin D status of pregnant Indigenous women and children, dark skin is a risk factor for low vitamin D levels, 7 and our recently published data indicate that about 40% of hospitalised Indigenous infants in the NT (median age, 7 months) had 25(OH)D 3 levels below 75 nmol/L 13 …”

“…12 While little is known about the vitamin D status of pregnant Indigenous women and children, dark skin is a risk factor for low vitamin D levels, 7 and our recently published data indicate that about 40% of hospitalised Indigenous infants in the NT (median age, 7 months) had 25(OH)D 3 levels below 75 nmol/L. 13 The aims of our study were to describe the natural history of vitamin D status from the third trimester of pregnancy to infancy (age 7 months), and to determine whether low vitamin D levels at birth (cord blood 25(OH)D 3 ) were associated with an increased risk of ALRI hospitalisation during the first year of life.…”

Children with lower respiratory tract infections and serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 levels: A case–control study

“…Indeed, a recent clinical trial showed that vitamin D 3 supplementation was associated significantly with enriched immune function, transcriptional regulation, cell cycle activity, DNA replication, and response to stress, and a 2014 review found that 13 of 18 studies examined, showed that vitamin D deficiency was prevalent among children with acute respiratory infections . Also, a study performed in hospitalized children classified as with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) versus non‐ALRI‐classified hospitalizations, found that 32% (24/74) children had 25OHD 3 levels <75 nmol/L compared with 47% (14/30) among children hospitalized for other reasons …”