Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Asthma Severity in Adults
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Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2010 Jan 14. [Epub ahead of print]
A study published ahead of print in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found a significant and deleterious association between reduced serum vitamin D levels and lung function, airway hyperresponsiveness, and glucocorticoid sensitivity in 54 adults with persistent asthma. The findings suggest that vitamin D supplementation has the potential to improve multiple parameters of asthma severity and treatment response.
Among study participants, increasing serum vitamin D concentrations were associated with greater lung function, with a 21.0 ± 9.2 mL (mean ± SE) increase in FEV1 for each 1 ng/mL increase in vitamin D. The correlation between higher vitamin D levels and improved lung function was even stronger in patients who were not treated with inhaled corticosteroids, indicating that evaluation of serum vitamin D concentrations should be considered for patients with asthma that responds suboptimally to inhaled corticosteroids.