Effectiveness of Maternal Vitamin D Supplementation in Preventing Respiratory Tract Infections in Children

Soo Young Kim

doi:10.4082/kjfm.43.3E

Vitamin D exhibits a hormone-like action in our body and the deficiency or insufficiency of vitamin D is known to be related to the occurrence or prognosis of various diseases. In the Korean Journal of Family Medicine, papers on the relationship between vitamin D levels and colon polyps [1], autoimmune thyroid disease [2], lung function [3], dry eyes [4], cardiovascular disease risk [5], and quality of life [6] were published. Among these effects, vitamin D is known to play an important role in bone growth and immune function. Although it is known that the administration of vitamin D reduces respiratory infections, there has been an interest in whether vitamin D administration during pregnancy reduces respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in newborns.

In the present issue, Sulaiman et al. [7] investigated the effect of maternal vitamin D supplementation in preventing RTIs in children. This systematic review selected three randomized controlled trials with a total of 3,224 participants (mother–infant pairs). It was found that maternal vitamin D supplements had no effects on RTIs among children (n=1,486 offspring; risk ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.82–1.11; random effects; I² statistics, 0%).

A systematic review on a topic similar to this study was published twice, but the conclusions of the two reviews were different. The systematic review by Christensen et al. [8] showed results supporting a preventive role of vitamin D during pregnancy on the risk of RTIs in offspring, whereas the systematic review by Tareke et al. [9] showed that there is no significant evidence to promote vitamin D supplementation. However, based on these results, it can be said that maternal vitamin D supplementation had no effect on RTIs in children.

Moreover, these results do not mean that pregnant women have no need for vitamin D supplementation. A study found that 4,000 IU of vitamin D daily had the greatest benefits in preventing preterm labor/births and infections [10], and most institutions recommend vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy. Therefore, vitamin D supplementation should be continued. However, supplementation is not necessary to reduce RTIs in children since its effect is insignificant.

Notes

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

REFERENCES

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