Vitamin D levels in children with COVID-19: a report from Turkey

• Published in: Epidemiology & Infection Vol. 149; p. e180
• Main Authors: Alpcan, Aysegul, Tursun, Serkan, Kandur, Yaşar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 10.08.2021
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age; Age Factors; Asymptomatic; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Calciferol; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - complications; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Disease; Disease control; Female; Fever; Gender; Headaches; Health care; Hospitals, University; Humans; Infant; Infections; Infectious diseases; Laboratories; Lymphocytes; Male; Males; Medical records; Nutrient deficiency; Original Paper; Patients; Peptides; Pneumonia; Public health; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Turkey - epidemiology; Variables; Viral diseases; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency - complications; Vitamin D Deficiency - epidemiology; Vitamin deficiency; Turkey; Switzerland; COVID-19; vitamin D; Children
• ISSN: 0950-2688; 1469-4409
• DOI: 10.1017/S0950268821001825

Several studies have demonstrated that higher levels of vitamin D are associated with better prognosis and outcomes in infectious diseases. We aimed to compare the vitamin D levels of paediatric patients with mild/moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease and a healthy control group. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who were hospitalised at our university hospital with the diagnosis of COVID-19 during the period between 25 May 2020 and 24 December 2020. The mean age of the COVID-19 patients was 10.7 ± 5.5 years (range 1–18 years); 43 (57.3%) COVID-19 patients were male. The mean serum vitamin D level was significantly lower in the COVID-19 group than the control group (21.5 ± 10.0 vs. 28.0 ± 11.0 IU, P < 0.001). The proportion of patients with vitamin D deficiency was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group than the control group (44% vs. 17.5%, P < 0.001). Patients with low vitamin D levels were older than the patients with normal vitamin D levels (11.6 ± 4.9 vs. 6.2 ± 1.8 years, P = 0.016). There was a significant male preponderance in the normal vitamin D group compared with the low vitamin D group (91.7% vs. 50.8%, P = 0.03). C-reactive protein level was higher in the low vitamin D group, although the difference did not reach statistical significance (9.6 ± 2.2 vs. 4.5 ± 1.6 mg/l, P = 0.074). Our study provides an insight into the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 for future studies. Empiric intervention with vitamin D can be justified by low serum vitamin D levels.