Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases. The estimated number of asthmatics in the western world has doubled in the last ten years, and children are particularly affected. Boosting the immune system early can prevent suffering from asthma.
Seven percent of the population affected
Asthma is caused by chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract and symptoms include shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. According to Statistics Austria, seven percent of the population in Austria – more than half a million people – are affected. Around 42,000 of these asthmatics are children between the ages of two and six. In Germany, there are 5.5 million people, or 480,000 children that suffer from asthma.
The increasing number of those affected by asthma is also likely related to an increase in allergic diseases. So how can we counteract this trend?
Vitamin D activates immune system
Experts are currently discussing the role of vitamin D in the development of respiratory disease. A ten-year study of 263 children in Perth, Australia, provides new aspects and further evidence of the link between vitamin D deficiency and asthma. In particular, the function of vitamin D to activate the immune system is likely to play a role in this context.
Infants with a vitamin D deficiency have an increased risk of developing asthma.
Risk of vitamin D deficiency in children?
Researchers found that children with vitamin D deficiency in early age were more likely to develop asthma and suffer from allergies and skin eczema.
This connection was particularly noticeable in the case of small children: Those who were not sufficiently supplied with vitamin D (< 50 nmol/l serum level) in their sixth month of life showed an increased risk of respiratory infection by streptococci (Streptococcus sp.) and were significantly more susceptible to severe infections of the lower respiratory tract. Both factors have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of asthma.
Asthmatic results are set in early childhood
The results support the consensus among experts that the interaction of allergies and respiratory tract infections in the first two years of life is likely to be critical for the development of asthma. Vitamin D deficiency as an additional risk factor could accelerate this process.
Vitamin D supply reduced the number of asthma attacks and halved the risk of being hospitalized for asthma.
Conversely, an adequate supply – at least 75 nmol/l is recommended – with the “sun vitamin” D reduces the risk of developing asthma. A recent Cochrane Review by British researchers showed that vitamin D reduced the risk of worsening asthma symptoms in 435 children and 658 adults with mild to moderate asthma.
The average number of severe asthma attacks per year fell from 0.44 to 0.28 when treated with vitamin D. The risk of being hospitalized with a severe asthma attack also halved from 6 % to 3 %.
Read further about the various findings on the hot topic of vitamin D, including its effect on high blood pressure, testosterone, or a strong immune defence.
