PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Anissa Berraies AU - Eya Tangour AU - Hanadi Abid AU - Jamel Ammar AU - Haifa Maalmi AU - Kamel Hamzaoui AU - Agnès Hamzaoui TI - Role of vitamin D in asthma severity and control in children DP - 2012 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P4570 VI - 40 IP - Suppl 56 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P4570.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P4570.full SO - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40 AB - In addition to its role in bone physiology and autoimmune disease, recent data suggest a potential role of vitamin D in asthma since it has immunomodulatory properties. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and the severity and control of asthma in children. We measured vitamin D levels in serum collected from 38 asthmatic children in winter and summer,compared to those of 30 healthy children. The mean age is 9.8 years and Sex-ratio was 2.16. Asthma was mild persistent in 60.5% of cases, moderate in 36.8% of children, and severe in 2.7%. The average vitamin D level was significantly lower in asthmatics in summer despite abundant sun exposure (20.74 ng/ml vs 26.77 ng/ml p = 0.001) and levels of vitamin D were significantly lower in winter than in summer in both groups (in asthmatics 17.37ng/ml vs 20.74ng/ml; p=0.036 and 18.97ng/ml vs 26.77ng/ml; p<0.001 in controls). Subjects with well-controlled asthma had higher serum levels of vitamin D than children with partially controlled or non-controlled asthma in summer (24.28ng/ml vs 13.9ng/ml; p<0.001) but not in winter (17.28ng /ml vs 17.67ng/ml). In the same way, children with more severe asthma had lower serum vitamin D levels than children with mild asthma in winter (12.07ng/ml vs 20.80ng/ml; p<0,001) and in summer (13.8ng/ml vs 25.26ng/ml; p<0,001). Our study indicates that vitamin D deficiency is more common among children with asthma and lower vitamin D levels are associated with a greater disease severity and probably with worse disease control. Randomized interventional trials on vitamin D supplementation will be needed to confirm its role in treatment and eventually in prevention of asthma.