The major circulating metabolite of vitamin D (25(OH)D) has been implicated in the pathogenesis for atopic dermatitis, asthma and other allergic diseases due to downstream immunomodulatory effects. However, a consistent association between 25(OH)D and asthma during adulthood has yet to be found in observational studies. We aimed to test the association between 25(OH)D and asthma during adulthood and hypothesised that this association would be stronger in non-atopic participants. Using information collected on the participants of the 1958 birth cohort, we developed a novel measure of atopic status using total and specific IgE values and reported history of eczema and allergic rhinitis. We designed a nested case-control analysis, stratified by atopic status, and using logistic regression models investigated the association between 25(OH)D measured at age 46 years with the prevalence of asthma and wheezy bronchitis at age 50 years, excluding participants who reported ever having asthma or wheezy bronchitis before the age of 42. In the fully adjusted models, a 10 nmol/L increase in serum 25(OH)D prevalence had a significant association with asthma (aOR 0.94; 95% CI 0.88⁻1.00). There was some evidence of an atopic dependent trend in the association between 25(OH)D levels and asthma. Further analytical work on the operationalisation of atopy status would prove useful to uncover whether there is a role for 25(OH)D and other risk factors for asthma.
Keywords: adulthood; asthma; atopy; factor analysis; vitamin D.