Vitamin D deficiency and its effect on respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants: results from a prospective study in a tertiary care centre.

BACKGROUND

The positive effects of steroids on lung development are well known, and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D has been shown to exert positive effects on fetal lung development.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants.

METHODS

Infants aged ≤32 gestational weeks who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during 1 year were enrolled in this prospective study. 25(OH)D levels were obtained at the time of admission to NICU. Patients were divided into three groups according to their 25(OH)D levels: severe (group 1), moderate (group 2), and mild (group 3) 25(OH)D deficiencies.

RESULTS

The study comprised 72 patients; of them, RDS was observed in 49 and not observed in 23 patients. The mean 25(OH)D levels were significantly lower in RDS patients (p=0.04). Multivariate analysis showed that patients with higher 25(OH)D levels can be preventive for the development of RDS (odds ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval 0.8-0.99; p=0.04).

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed that 25(OH)D deficiency is an independent risk factor for RDS in premature infants. However, further studies are necessary to explore the association between 25(OH)D deficiency and RDS.