Vitamin D crucial to newborns

Vitamin D in newborns can predict wheezing and future respiratory infections, but not necessarily the risk of asthma. The article appears in the January issue of Pediatrics and supports the recent theories that vitamin d deficiencies contribute to risk of infection.

“Our data suggest that the association between vitamin D and wheezing, which can be a symptom of many respiratory diseases and not just asthma, is largely due to respiratory infections,” says Carlos Camargo, MD, of the Massachusetts General hospital (MGH), who was lead author of the study. “Acute respiratory infections are a major health problem in children. For example, bronchiolitis – a viral illness that affects small airway passages in the lungs – is the leading cause of hospitalization of US infants.”

As most people know, vitamin D is produced by the body when exposed to sunlight, which can be a seasonal challenge for a large percent of the world population. It is also associate with bone strength but is getting more and more attention for its role in controlling infection.

Women who took vitamin D supplements during pregnancy had babies with higher levels of vitamin D in their cord blood samples and lower instances of respiratory infection.

While vitamin D deficiency may not cause asthma, it’s still important. “There’s a likely difference here between what causes asthma and what causes existing asthma to get worse. Since respiratory infections are the most common cause of asthma exacerbations, vitamin d supplements may help to prevent those events.”

Source: MGH, ScienceDaily