A new report published in the Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reveals that children who are suffering from asthma may experience worse symptoms of the condition if they are suffering from Vitamin D deficiency.
The research was led by Dr Atul Gupta, from the Royal Brompton Hospital and the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College and King’s College London, who observed around 86 children with an average age of 11.7 years.
Among the participants, 36 had Severe Therapy Resistant Asthma (STRA), 26 suffered from moderate asthma while the remaining 24 were asthma free. The researchers analyzed the vitamin D levels, use of medication, lung function and the symptoms while 22 of the 36 STRA patients had airway tissue samples collected.
The researchers found that those who had STRA had lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood, made a greater use of medications and experienced worse symptoms among the three groups. “This study clearly demonstrates that low levels of vitamin D are associated with poorer lung function, increased use of medication, worse symptoms and an increase in the mass of airway smooth muscle in children with severe therapy-resistant asthma”, Dr Gupta said.
Source – Medindia
