In the latest contribution to uncovering the extensive health benefits of vitamin D, scientists have linked its level to asthma intensity.
Scientists from Harvard Medical School travelled to Costa Rica where they studied 616 children with the respiratory condition.
Each child was assessed for allergic markers, lung function and circulating vitamin D levels.
The researchers found that those with lower vitamin D levels were significantly more likely to have been hospitalized for asthma in the previous year and were likely to have used more inhaled corticosteroids.
Moreover, their airways tended to show increased hyperreactivity, and the children were also significantly more likely to be allergic to dust mites.
“This study provides epidemiological support for a growing body of evidence that vitamin D insufficiency may worsen asthma severity, and we suspect that giving vitamin D supplements to asthma patients who are deficient may help with their asthma control,” wrote Drs. Juan Celedon and Augusto Litonjua, who were among the studys authors.
Clinicians also believe that insufficient levels of vitamin D are not only associated with rickets and other bone problems in children, but they may be linked to mature-age disorders such as heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Those who are concerned that they do not get a sufficient amount of vitamin D form their diet may consider turning to nutritional supplements. 