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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Nov 28;16(23):4128.
doi: 10.3390/nu16234128.

Vitamin D Supplementation for Treating Atopic Dermatitis in Children and Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Amalie Ying Nielsen  1 , Simon Høj  2 , Simon Francis Thomsen  3 , Howraman Meteran  4   5   6
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Vitamin D Supplementation for Treating Atopic Dermatitis in Children and Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Amalie Ying Nielsen et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting up to 20% of children and 10% of adults worldwide. Current research suggests a correlation between serum vitamin D level and AD severity and that vitamin D supplementation could have a potential therapeutic effect on AD.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of vitamin D supplementation for disease improvement in children and adults with AD.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane were searched from 19 April to 20 April 2024. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of patients with AD comparing an intervention group with a control group. The risk of bias of the selected studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. All analyses were conducted in R (v4.1.2; R Core Team 2021).

Results: Eleven RCTs with 686 participants were included. The included trials had measured AD severity by using the SCOring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) or the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI). Vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced AD severity compared with the control group (standardized mean difference = -0.41, 95% CI: -0.67 to -0.16, I2 = 58%, p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation reduces AD severity in children and adults. Larger-scale and longer-term studies are still needed to confirm this conclusion. This study has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024535014).

Keywords: SCORAD index; adults; atopic dermatitis; children; efficacy; human health; meta-analysis; systematic review; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

Simon Francis Thomsen: With no relation to the present protocol, Thomsen has been a speaker or has served on advisory boards for Sanofi, AbbVie, LEO Pharma, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novartis, UCB Pharma, Union Therapeutics, Almirall, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals and has received research support from Sanofi, AbbVie, LEO Pharma, Novartis, UCB Pharma, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Howraman Meteran reports receiving honoraria for lectures and advisory board meetings from GSK, Teva, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Airsonett AB, and ALK-Abelló not related to this study within the past 5 years. Howraman Meteran has received a research grant from ALK-Abelló A/S outside this study. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Comparative meta-analysis funnel chart [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].
Figure A2
Figure A2
Trim-filled funnel chart [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].
Figure A3
Figure A3
Outlier detection [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. Square: Individual study estimates; Rhombus: Pooled effect estimate; Red: Prediction interval.
Figure A4
Figure A4
Influence statistics. Red: Outliers or critical values; Blue: Values within the acceptable range.
Figure A5
Figure A5
Leave-one-out analysis [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].
Figure A6
Figure A6
Baujat diagnostics [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].
Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart of literature screening and selection. “n” is the number of studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk assessment of bias in RCTs [17,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot for meta-analysis of the effect of vitamin D intervention on AD severity [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. Square: Individual study estimates; Rhombus: Pooled effect estimate; Red: Prediction interval.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Subgroup analysis for duration based on the groups <3 months and ≥3 months [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. Square: Individual study estimates; Rhombus: Pooled effect estimate; Red: Prediction interval.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Subgroup analysis for severity based on the groups mild-to-moderate and severe [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. Square: Individual study estimates; Rhombus: Pooled effect estimate; Red: Prediction interval.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Subgroup analysis for dose based on the groups >1000 IU/day and <1000 IU/day [17,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. Square: Individual study estimates; Rhombus: Pooled effect estimate; Red: Prediction interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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