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Association of vitamin D with disease severity in infants with bronchiolitis

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Abstract

Vitamin D’s role in immune system regulation and its contribution to host defenses against respiratory infections may have implications for bronchiolitis pathophysiology. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the association between the clinical severity of bronchiolitis and serum vitamin D levels in infants. Infants aged 1 month to 12 months, diagnosed with bronchiolitis, and healthy controls attending routine immunization were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were recorded, including clinical details, bronchiolitis severity, and course during hospital stay. Bronchiolitis severity score (BSS) was used to score the severity. A 1–2 ml serum sample was obtained for vitamin D levels estimation. The median age of cases (n = 64; 65.6% male) was 5 [3, 8] months, and that of the control group (n = 30) was 3 [2, 9] months. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in age, gender, weight, mode of delivery, family history of atopy/asthma, feeding pattern, smoke exposure, and daily vitamin D supplementation. The median vitamin D levels were not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.68). Among infants with bronchiolitis, 62.5% had vitamin D insufficiency (≤ 20 ng/ml). A significantly higher median BSS indicates that infants with vitamin D insufficiency exhibited more severe disease (p = 0.019). Although a negative correlation between BSS and vitamin D levels was noted, it did not reach statistical significance [rs = (−)0.17; p = 0.16].

Conclusion: Infants with Vitamin D insufficiency experienced more severe bronchiolitis with elevated BSS scores. It highlights the potential role of vitamin D deficiency in severe bronchiolitis.

What is Known:

• Vitamin D level is low in infants with bronchiolitis.

What is New:

• Infant with low vitamin D level experienced more severe bronchiolitis.

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Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

    Jashan Mittal, Nikhil Rajvanshi, Kkomal Suvarna, Prawin Kumar & Jagdish Prasad Goyal

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  1. Jashan Mittal
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  2. Nikhil Rajvanshi
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  3. Kkomal Suvarna
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Contributions

SA collected data and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. PK redefined the research idea and validated the data collection. KS edited and reviewed the manuscript. JPG developed the research idea and edited the manuscript. JPG will act as guarantor.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jagdish Prasad Goyal.

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Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Institutional Ethics Committee, AIIMS, Jodhpur (ref no IEC No: AIIMS/JDH/IEC/2018/766).

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Written informed consent was obtained from the parents.

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Communicated by Peter de Winter

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Mittal, J., Rajvanshi, N., Suvarna, K. et al. Association of vitamin D with disease severity in infants with bronchiolitis. Eur J Pediatr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-024-05513-7

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