Correlation of serum vitamin D levels with severity of pediatric atopic dermatitis and the impact of vitamin D supplementation on treatment outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

There is scarcity of prospective studies assessing the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and atopic dermatitis (AD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a prospective study where in serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels were measured in 35 AD patients and 35 age and sex-matched controls. AD patients deficient in vitamin D were supplemented with 1000 IU of vitamin D per day for three months. Serum vitamin D levels and SCORAD were again measured at the end of three months in all AD patients.

RESULTS

The baseline vitamin D levels in patients and controls did not have any statistically significant difference ( = .97). There was a statistically significant ( = .02) inverse relationship between the AD severity and serum vitamin D levels at baseline ( = -0.52). Maximum reduction in SCORAD (41.4 ± 12.7) after 3 months of vitamin D supplementation was seen in severe AD and the minimum (2.4 ± 13.2) in mild AD ( = .0003).

CONCLUSIONS

We found no difference in the mean serum vitamin D levels between AD patients and controls. An inverse correlation was seen between serum vitamin D levels at baseline and severity of AD. Beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation was observed maximally in severe AD as observed by a reduction in SCORAD.