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Vitamin D deficiency linked to greater risk of asthma in African American children

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

African American children with a vitamin D deficiency may be at a greater risk of developing asthma, a recent study suggests.

Researchers from the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, measured the nutrient blood levels of 85 African American children who were between 6 and 20 years of age and compared their vitamin D levels to 21 healthy children of a similar age and race.

Lead author Robert Freishtat and his colleagues were shocked to find that, while only 19 percent of healthy subjects had insufficient levels of vitamin D, a total of 86 percent of asthmatic children had inadequate blood levels of the nutrient.

Furthermore, after adjusting for risk factors such as age, weight and the time of year of the testing, the research team discovered the odds of asthmatic children being vitamin D deficient were nearly twenty times those of healthy kids.

"For African American kids with asthma, vitamin D testing and ensuring adequate vitamin D intake may need to become necessary steps in their primary care," concluded Freishtat.