Change of Vitamin D level in Children with Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection According to Age, Gender and Season

Abstract

Objective: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) are the most common reason of mortality for under 5 years old. We aimed to examine serum 25 (OH) vitamin D level of children with LRTI according to age, time of admission and gender. Methods: Children between 1 months-18 years of age with a diagnosis of LRTI admitted to the Health Science University Kecioren Research and Training Hospital between July 2018 and July 2019 were included. Sociodemographic characteristics, serum 25 (OH) vitamin D levels, history of recurrent LRTI, and hospitalisation time were recorded. Results: A total of 105 patients, 65 (61.9%) male (M/F:1.6) with a median age of 4 years (1 month-17 years) were included. Twenty nine patients (27.6%) were hospitalised and 76 (72.6%) patients were outpatients. Of them, 44 patients were diagnosed with viral acute lower respiratory tract infection and the remaining 61 with bacterial acute lower respiratory tract infection. Serum 25 (OH) vitamin D level was low in 63 patients ( 20 ng/mL. In 32 patients under 1 year old of age, median serum 25 (OH) vitamin D levels were lower in patients born in winter compared to patients born in other seasons. The serum median 25 (OH) vitamin D level of hospitalised children under 1 year old of age was statistically significantly lower than in outpatients of the same age group, [25.9 ng/mL (1.7-87.7) versus 42.1 ng/mL (16.6- 62.6), p=0.035]. Conclusion: We conclude that, vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency may be a risk factor for LRTI presentation, recurrence and outcome in children.