The
relationship between vitamin D and asthma has been receiving increasing
attention in the scientific community. In the past five years, studies have
looked at how vitamin D (or lack thereof) affects the development of asthma,
the persistence of asthma attacks and the treatment of asthmatic symptoms. Here
we consider the most recent study that looked at the use of vitamin D in
addition to standard treatments.
The
study, which was published in Annals of
Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, was a case control study. In total 130
participants of varying ages took part. The study included participants who
were classified as having mild to moderate asthma. Whilst one of the groups
only received the standard treatment that included an inhaler with dry powder,
the other group received the standard treatment and additional doses of vitamin
D. The participants in this group received an injection of 100,000 units, followed
by instructions to take 50,000 units orally on a weekly basis. The researchers
then measured the lung functioning of both groups at different time points
throughout the life of the study. The main findings indicated that both groups
were performing equally well after eight weeks. However, 20 weeks after the
study started there were marked differences between the groups. On average, the
participants who had been given vitamin D performed 20 percent better than they
had at the start of the study. In contrast to that, participants who had been
given the standard treatment performed seven percent better. Based on this, the
researchers concluded that larger studies are needed to see whether vitamin D
could be used as supplementary treatment in the management of asthma symptoms.
These
findings are far from surprising as they are pointing in the same direction as
previous research. There are a few points from the current study that are worth
considering when interpreting the results or when attempting to replicate its
findings. One of the flaws is the reliance on self-report of adherence to
treatment. The researchers measured the adherence to the treatment via
telephone interviews. However, assuming that the adherence (or lack thereof) is
equally distributed between the groups, the findings would still hold. Another
flaw is that participants were not tested for vitamin D deficiency prior to
taking part in the study. Having said that, it is clear that that the
researchers were keen to stress the importance of further research. It is also
worth noting that this study is one of the few studies within this line of
research that included adults.
It
is easy to see the appeal of vitamin D as an additional treatment. It is
non-invasive and easy to administer. At the same time it is worth mentioning
that experts in this field have stressed that the research is still in its
early stages and individuals should not start taking vitamin D as a treatment.
We
will keep an eye on developments in this field.
Further information can be found here.