Vitamin D Levels in Asymptomatic Children and Adolescents with Atopy during the COVID-19 Era

Gavriela Feketea; Vasiliki Vlacha; Georgios Tsiros; Panagiota Voila; Raluca Maria Pop; Ioana Corina Bocsan; Luminita Aurelia Stanciu; Mihnea Zdrenghea

doi:10.3390/jpm11080712

Vitamin D Levels in Asymptomatic Children and Adolescents with Atopy during the COVID-19 Era

J Pers Med. 2021 Jul 25;11(8):712. doi: 10.3390/jpm11080712.

Authors

Gavriela Feketea^{1

2}, Vasiliki Vlacha^{3

4}, Georgios Tsiros⁵, Panagiota Voila⁶, Raluca Maria Pop⁷, Ioana Corina Bocsan⁷, Luminita Aurelia Stanciu⁸, Mihnea Zdrenghea^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Haematology, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
² Hospital Unit of Amaliada, Department of Paediatrics, 27200 Amaliada, Greece.
³ Department of Paediatrics, Karamandanio Children's Hospital, 26331 Patras, Greece.
⁴ Department of Early Years Learning and Care, University of Ioannina, 26331 Ioannina, Greece.
⁵ Gastouni Health Centre, Department of Family Medicine, 27300 Gastouni, Greece.
⁶ Private Medical Laboratory, Clinical Chemistry Department, 27200 Amaliada, Greece.
⁷ Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400337 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
⁸ National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK.
⁹ Ion Chiricuta Oncology Institute, Republicii Str., No. 34-36, 400010 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Abstract

This study assessed vitamin D status in asymptomatic children and adolescents in Greece, with and without atopy, and possible changes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Serum levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) and total immunoglobulin E (IgE), and eosinophil count were measured in 340 asymptomatic children and adolescents (155 males, 185 females), mean age 8.6 ± 4.6 years, recruited over a period of 24 months (February 2019-January 2021). Atopy, defined by high level of IgE for age, was associated with vitamin D deficient status (p = 0.041). Subjects with and without atopy showed similar rates of insufficient and normal levels of 25(OH)D. The median level of 25(OH)D was significantly higher in subjects recruited during the pandemic, when home confinement rules were observed, than before the pandemic, and significantly more children had normal levels of 25(OH)D (p < 0.001), but no differences were noticed for IgE levels or eosinophil count. These results support a link between vitamin D and allergic and infectious inflammations, and specifically the association of vitamin D deficiency with asymptomatic atopy, defined as increased IgE level for age.

Keywords: COVID-19; atopy; vitamin D.