P19 Vitamin D in the Prevention of Acute Respiratory Infection: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies

• Published in: Thorax Vol. 67; no. Suppl 2; pp. A71 - A72
• Main Authors: Jolliffe, DA, Martineau, AR, Griffiths, CJ
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society 01.12.2012; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• ISSN: 0040-6376; 1468-3296
• DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2012-202678.160

Introduction and Objectives Acute respiratory infections (ARI) cause significant morbidity and mortality: in the UK, during 2004, 33,957 deaths occurred due to pneumonia alone. Vitamin D metabolites enhance immunity to a wide range of respiratory pathogens in vitro, and numerous clinical studies have investigated whether vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for ARI, or whether vitamin D supplementation prevents ARI. Systematic reviews of this literature are lacking, however. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review of clinical studies investigating the relationship between vitamin D status or the effect of vitamin D supplementation on risk of ARI. Methods The PubMed database was searched on 7th June 2012 using the terms ‘vitamin D’ and’ respiratory infection’. Cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies or clinical trials in human subjects investigating the relationship between serum concentration of vitamin D metabolites or the effect of vitamin D supplementation on risk of ARI were included; ARI was defined as any infection of the respiratory tract with symptom duration of 30days or less. Studies relating exclusively to tuberculosis were excluded, as this is classically regarded as a chronic respiratory tract infection, with symptom duration usually exceeding 30 days. Results Thirty-one studies reporting data from a total of 43,272 participants were included in our review. Of these, 19 were observational studies (3 cross-sectional, 8 case-control and 8 cohort)and 12 were randomised controlled trials. Sixteen of the 19 observational studies reviewed reported statistically significant associations between vitamin D deficiency and susceptibility to ARI, and 3 reported no such association. Six of the 12 clinical trials reviewed reported protective effects of vitamin D against ARI, while five reported null effects, and one reported an adverse effect on pneumonia recurrence. Conclusions Observational studies report consistent associations between vitamin D deficiency and susceptibility to ARI in a wide range of age-groups in diverse clinical settings. By contrast, randomised controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of ARI report conflicting results, possibly reflecting varying prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in study populations and/or heterogeneity in vitamin D supplementation regimens investigated.