The association of vitamin D deficiency with hemogram-derived inflammatory biomarkers in children

• Published in: Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases Vol. 32; no. 10; pp. 2418 - 2423
• Main Authors: Konuksever, Dilek, Yücel Karakaya, Sevinç Püren, Bölük, Oğuz, Koçak, Mesut, Kılıç, Betül Orhan, Saç, Rukiye Ünsal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Inflammation; Lymphocyte to monocyte ratio; Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Platelet distribution width; Platelet to lymphocyte ratio; Red cell distribution width; Vitamin D; Lymphocyte to monocyte ratio; Vitamin D; Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Platelet distribution width; Platelet to lymphocyte ratio; Inflammation; Red cell distribution width
• ISSN: 0939-4753; 1590-3729
• DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2022.07.012

One of the extraosseous effects of vitamin D is that it is a potent modulator of inflammatory processes. Many studies have demonstrated the inverse association between vitamin D and inflammation. Therefore, we hypothesize that vitamin D deficiency may affect the inflammatory markers derived from hemogram parameters [neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet distribution width (PDW), red blood cell distribution width (RDW)] in healthy children. We conducted a retrospective study on healthy children. From 2015 to 2020, 16,321 children with simultaneous vitamin D and hemogram measurements were identified from electronic records. Participants were divided into 2 groups according to whether they had vitamin D deficiency or not. The relationship between vitamin D status and the levels of inflammatory markers was analyzed. All inflammatory markers showed statistically significant differences between vitamin D status (p < 0.001 for all). Vitamin D levels were significantly negatively correlated with NLR (r = −0.285), PLR (r = −0.257), PDW (r = −0.181), and positively correlated with LMR (r = 0.218), and RDW (r = 0.057). In logistic regression analysis, age (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.14–1.16), gender (OR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.54–1.78), LMR (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.95–0.98), PLR (OR = 1.003, 95% CI: 1.001–1.004), and RDW (OR = 1.10, 95%CI: 1.07–1.13) were found to be independent predictors for vitamin D deficiency. Statistically significant differences were detected between vitamin D status and inflammatory parameters. However, the difference between the median values of vitamin D groups was very small and the degree of correlation was very weak. Therefore, the clinical significance of the difference should be questioned. •There is no knowledge on the association of vitamin D status with novel inflammatory markers in children.•In this analysis, vitamin D status correlated with inflammatory marker levels.•We analyzed a total of 16,321 children to evaluate the association of vitamin D with hemogram-derived inflammatory markers.