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Review
. 2012 Jan 15;185(2):124-32.
doi: 10.1164/rccm.201108-1502CI. Epub 2011 Oct 20.

Vitamin D and asthma

Grace Paul  1 , John M Brehm, John F Alcorn, Fernando Holguín, Shean J Aujla, Juan C Celedón
Affiliations
Review

Vitamin D and asthma

Grace Paul et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. .

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency and asthma are common conditions that share risk factors such as African American ethnicity, inner-city residence, and obesity. This review provides a critical examination of current experimental and epidemiologic evidence of a causal association between vitamin D status and asthma or asthma morbidity, including potential protective mechanisms such as antiviral effects and enhanced steroid responsiveness. Because most published epidemiologic studies of vitamin D and asthma or asthma morbidity are observational, a recommendation for or against vitamin D supplementation as preventive or secondary treatment for asthma is not advisable and must await results of ongoing clinical trials. Should these trials confirm a beneficial effect of vitamin D, others will be needed to assess the role of vitamin D supplementation to prevent or treat asthma in different groups such as infants, children of school age, and ethnic minorities.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Potential protective effects of vitamin D against asthma morbidity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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