Review Article: Update on allergen detection in childhood asthma

Background: Recent data suggest that there is a worldwide epidemic of vitamin D deficiency and lack of vitamin D has been linked to increased incidence of asthma and increased severity of asthma in children. Therefore, the examination of relationship between vitamin D and bronchial asthma was important. Objective: To determine serum vitamin D level in children and adolescents suffering from bronchial asthma and to detect the relationship between vitamin D level and asthma severity symptoms. Methods: This case–control study was conducted on 40 asthmatic children and adolescents, their ages ranged from 2-18 years who were attending to pediatric department at Suez Canal University Hospital, and were previously diagnosed as bronchial asthma according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) 2007. In addition, 40 age and sex matched healthy children served as a control group. All children were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, including; anthropometric measurements, and chest examination. Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD)[25(OH) D], total IgE level, and peripheral blood eosinophil count were evaluated. Results: The mean age of studied asthmatic children was 5.14±2.87 years. Asthma was more reported in girls than boys (55% and 45% respectively). Asthma prevalence was higher in urban than rural areas. In our study, asthmatic patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels than controls. We found that vitamin D insufficiency in 35% of studied asthmatic children. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between vitamin D level and the severity of asthma (p <0.001). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is relatively frequent in asthmatic patients who were attending the pediatric department at Suez Canal University Hospital. There was a significant inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and the severity of asthma symptoms. Keywords: Children, adolescences, bronchial asthma, vitamin D