Is Vitamin D Deficiency a Risk Factor for Covid 19 in Children?

Objective: COVID 19 is a global health problem that can result in serious complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical importance of vitamin D deficiency in children with COVID-19.

Material and methods: This study includes 40 patients who were diagnosed to have COVID- 19 and hospitalized with the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method, 45 healthy matched control subjects with normal vitamin D levels. The age of admission, clinical and laboratory data, and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHD) levels were recorded. Those with vitamin D levels which are below 20 ng/ml were determined as Group 1 and those with ≥20 ng/ml as Group 2.

Results: Patients with COVID- 19 had significantly lower vitamin D levels 13.14 μg/L (4.19-69.28) than did the controls 34.81(3.8-77.42) μg/L (p < 0.001). Patients with COVID- 19 also had significantly lower serum phosphorus (4.09±0.73 vs. 5.06±0.93vs (U/L) (p<0.001) values compared with the controls. The symptom of fever was significantly higher in COVID- 19 patients who had deficient and insufficient vitamin D levels than in patients who had sufficient vitamin D levels (p=0.038). There was a negative correlation found between fever symptom and vitamin D level (r=-0.358, p = 0.023).

Conclusion: This is the first to evaluate vitamin D levels and its relationship with clinical findings in pediatric patients with COVID-19. Our results suggest that vitamin D values may be associated with the occurrence and management of the COVID-19 disease by modulating the immunological mechanism to the virus in the pediatric population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Epidemiology.