RESEARCH - Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the incidence of acute viral respiratory tract infections

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PLoS One. 2010; 5(6): e11088.

Published online 2010 June 14. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011088.

PMCID: PMC2885414

Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the Incidence of Acute Viral Respiratory

Tract Infections in Healthy Adults

R. Sabetta,1,2* Paolo DePetrillo,3 Ralph J. Cipriani,2 Joanne

Smardin,2 Lillian A. Burns,2 and Marie L. Landry4

1Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New

Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

2Section of Infectious Diseases, Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich,

Connecticut, United States of America

3Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University

School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of

America

4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University School of

Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

Abstract

Background

Declining serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D seen in the fall

and winter as distance increases from the equator may be a factor in

the seasonal increased prevalence of influenza and other viral

infections. This study was done to determine if serum

25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations correlated with the incidence of

acute viral respiratory tract infections.

Methodology/Findings

In this prospective cohort study serial monthly concentrations of

25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured over the fall and winter 2009–2010

in 198 healthy adults, blinded to the nature of the substance being

measured. The participants were evaluated for the development of any

acute respiratory tract infections by investigators blinded to the

25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. The incidence of infection in

participants with different concentrations of vitamin D was

determined. One hundred ninety-five (98.5%) of the enrolled

participants completed the study. Light skin pigmentation, lean body

mass, and supplementation with vitamin D were found to correlate with

higher concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Concentrations of 38

ng/ml or more were associated with a significant (p<0.0001) two-fold

reduction in the risk of developing acute respiratory tract infections

and with a marked reduction in the percentages of days ill.

Conclusions/Significance

Maintenance of a 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum concentration of 38 ng/ml

or higher should significantly reduce the incidence of acute viral

respiratory tract infections and the burden of illness caused thereby,

at least during the fall and winter in temperate zones. The findings

of the present study provide direction for and call for future

interventional studies examining the efficacy of vitamin D

supplementation in reducing the incidence and severity of specific

viral infections, including influenza, in the general population and

in subpopulations with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, such

as pregnant women, dark skinned individuals, and the obese.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885414/

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