The Relationship between Vitamin D Status and Allergic Diseases in New Zealand Preschool Children
by
Carolyn Cairncross 1, Cameron Grant 2,3, Welma Stonehouse 4, Cath Conlon 1, Barry McDonald 5, Lisa Houghton 6, Darryl Eyles 7,8, Carlos A. Camargo, Jr. 9
, Jane Coad 1 and Pamela Von Hurst 1,*
, Jane Coad 1 and Pamela Von Hurst 1,*
1
School of Food and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
2
Department of Paediatrics, University of Auckland and General Paediatrics, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
3
Starship Children’s Hospital, Aucklan 1023, New Zealand
4
CSIRO Food and Nutrition, Adelaide 5000, Australia
5
Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
6
Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
7
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
8
Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Brisbane 4072, Australia
9
Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2016, 8(6), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8060326
Received: 23 March 2016 / Revised: 17 May 2016 / Accepted: 20 May 2016 / Published: 1 June 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2015 Joint Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand and Nutrition Society of Australia)
Recent research on vitamin D in young children has expanded from bone development to exploring immunomodulatory effects. Our aim was to investigate the relationship of vitamin D status and allergic diseases in preschool-aged children in New Zealand. Dried capillary blood spots were collected from 1329 children during late-winter to early-spring for 25(OH)D measurement by LC-MS/MS. Caregivers completed a questionnaire about their child’s recent medical history. Analysis was by multivariable logistic regression. Mean 25(OH)D concentration was 52(SD19) nmol/L, with 7% of children <25 nmol/L and 49% <50 nmol/L. Children with 25(OH)D concentrations ≥75 nmol/L (n = 29) had a two-fold increased risk for parent-report of doctor-diagnosed food allergy compared to children with 25(OH)D 50–74.9 nmol/L (OR = 2.21, 1.33–3.68, p = 0.002). No associations were present between 25(OH)D concentration and presence of parent-reported eczema, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis or atopic asthma. Vitamin D deficiency was not associated with several allergic diseases in these New Zealand preschool children. In contrast, high 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with a two-fold increased risk of parental-report food allergy. This increase supports further research into the association between vitamin D status and allergic disease in preschool children.
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Keywords:
vitamin D; children; allergic disease; New Zealand
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Cairncross, C.; Grant, C.; Stonehouse, W.; Conlon, C.; McDonald, B.; Houghton, L.; Eyles, D.; Camargo, C.A., Jr.; Coad, J.; Von Hurst, P. The Relationship between Vitamin D Status and Allergic Diseases in New Zealand Preschool Children. Nutrients 2016, 8, 326.
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