Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Scientific Research and Continuous Medical Education Unit, Al Ansari Specialist Hospital, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Aug 19;101(33):e30108. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030108.
Respiratory tract infections are common illnesses in children, causing significant morbidity and negatively affecting their health. Vitamin A protects against infections and maintains epithelial integrity. The goal of this study was to determine the correlation between vitamin A deficiency and recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTIs). Participants in this cross-sectional study were divided into 3 groups: RRTIs (including patients with history of RRTIs presenting with respiratory tract infection symptoms), RTI (including patients without history of RRTIs presenting with respiratory tract infection symptoms), and control (including children who came for a routine health checkup without a history of RRTIs or respiratory tract infection symptoms). The vitamin A assay was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The study included 550 children aged 6.64 ± 2.61 years. The RRTIs group included 150 children (27.3%), the RTI group included 300 children (54.5%), and the control group included 100 children (18.2%). Subclinical vitamin A deficiency and vitamin A deficiency affected 3.1% and 1.3% of subjects, respectively. Subclinical vitamin A deficiency and vitamin A deficiency were higher in children with RRTIs than in those with RTI (8% vs 1.3%, P = .001 and 4% vs 0.3%, P = .006). Additionally, children with RRTIs had significantly higher rates of subclinical vitamin A deficiency and vitamin A deficiency than those in the control group, which had 1% subclinical vitamin A deficiency (P = .017) and no cases of vitamin A deficiency (P = .043). The RRTIs group had higher rates of otitis media (27.3%), sinusitis (20%), and pneumonia (4.7%) than the RTI group (P = .002). Vitamin A insufficiency was associated with RRTIs in children.
呼吸道感染是儿童常见疾病，会导致较高发病率，对其健康产生负面影响。维生素 A 可预防感染并维持上皮完整性。本研究旨在确定维生素 A 缺乏与反复呼吸道感染（RRTIs）之间的相关性。本横断面研究的参与者分为 3 组：RRTIs（包括有 RRTIs 病史且出现呼吸道感染症状的患者）、RTI（包括无 RRTIs 病史且出现呼吸道感染症状的患者）和对照组（包括因常规健康检查而就诊且无 RRTIs 或呼吸道感染症状的儿童）。采用高效液相色谱法进行维生素 A 检测。本研究纳入了 550 名年龄为 6.64±2.61 岁的儿童。RRTIs 组包括 150 名儿童（27.3%），RTI 组包括 300 名儿童（54.5%），对照组包括 100 名儿童（18.2%）。亚临床维生素 A 缺乏和维生素 A 缺乏分别影响了 3.1%和 1.3%的受试者。RRTIs 患儿的亚临床维生素 A 缺乏和维生素 A 缺乏发生率高于 RTI 患儿（8%比 1.3%，P=0.001 和 4%比 0.3%，P=0.006）。此外，与对照组相比，RRTIs 患儿的亚临床维生素 A 缺乏和维生素 A 缺乏发生率显著更高，对照组分别有 1%的亚临床维生素 A 缺乏（P=0.017）和无维生素 A 缺乏（P=0.043）。RRTIs 组中耳炎（27.3%）、鼻窦炎（20%）和肺炎（4.7%）的发生率高于 RTI 组（P=0.002）。儿童 RRTIs 与维生素 A 不足有关。
