IMR Press / FBE / Volume 6 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/E687

Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Review
Is vitamin D deficiency correlated with childhood wheezing and asthma?
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1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Verona, G.B. Rossi Polyclinic, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy
2 Child Health Department, Medical School, University of Ioannina, P.O. Box 1187, 45110, Ioannina, Greece

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed) 2014, 6(1), 31–39; https://doi.org/10.2741/E687
Published: 1 January 2014
Abstract

There is increasing evidence that vitamin D regulates immune responses. There is also epidemiological evidence of a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and development of asthma. In addition, several epidemiological studies suggest that low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy and early life are inversely associated with the risk of developing respiratory infections and wheezing in childhood. Vitamin D also seems to reduce asthma exacerbation and increase the response to glucocorticoids. These findings have led to considering a possible link between the occurrence of allergic respiratory diseases and low levels of vitamin D. However, the precise role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of asthma still remains unclear, emphasizing the need for well-designed trials on vitamin D supplementation to decipher its role in preventing and/or managing the disease. This review examines the relationship that exists between vitamin D deficiency and childhood wheezing and asthma.

Keywords
Allergy
Asthma
Childhood
Vitamin D
Wheezing
Review
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