Table 1.
Summary of studies on the possible role of vitamin D in the development of food allergy.
| References | Study | Age, sample | Results | Definition of vitamin D deficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharief et al. (26) | Retrospective study | 3,136 children/adolescents and 3,454 adults | 25(OH)D levels <15 ng/ml associated with peanut allergy, no consistent associations seen in adults | 25(OH)D deficiency <15 ng/ml, insufficiency 15–29 ng/ml |
| Mullins et al. (27) | Retrospective study | 115 peanut allergic patients younger than 72 months | Non-linear relationship between neonatal 25(OH)D3 levels and peanut allergy in children under 6 months of age, slightly higher levels (75–99.9 nmol/L) linked with lower vs. those in the reference group (50–74.9 nmol/L) | Neonatal concentration of 25(OH)D divided into four groups: <50, 50–74.9, 75–99.9, and >100 nmol/L. The reference group was considered between 50 and 74.9 nmol/L |
| Kim et al. (28) | Retrospective study | 18,181 patients 10 years or older (2,814 patients with food-induced anaphylaxis and 15,367 people with available serum vitamin D measurements) | Higher incidence of food-induced anaphylaxis in regions with lower vitamin D levels in the population | Not defined |
| Kull et al. (29) | Prospective birth cohort | 4,089 newborn infants were followed for 4 years | Water-soluble form increased the risk of allergic disease in children up to the age of 4 years compared with supplementation of same vitamin given in peanut oil | Not defined |
| Camargo et al. (30) | Prospective pre-birth cohort study | 1,194 mother–child pairs followed up through age 3 years | Higher maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy may decrease the risk of recurrent wheeze in early childhood | Not defined |
| Nwaru et al. (31) | Prospective cohort study | 971 children with 5-year follow-up | It was found that maternal intake of vitamin D was inversely associated with sensitization to food allergens | Not defined |
| Liu et al. (32) | Prospective birth cohort study | 649 children who were enrolled at birth and followed from birth onward | Vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of food sensitization among individuals with certain genotypes | Cord blood 25(OH)D3 <11 ng/ml |
| Jones et al. (33) | Prospective birth cohort study | 231 mother–child pairs, derived from a larger (n = 669) prospective birth cohort, followed up until 1 year of age | Reduced fetal exposure to vitamin D increases the risk of eczema in infants by 12 months of age | 25(OH)D3 levels cutoffs were divided in <50 nmol/L, 50–74.99 nmol/L, >75 nmol/L |
| Weisse et al. (34) | Prospective | 378 mother–child pairs followed up until 2 years of age | High vitamin D levels in pregnancy and at birth may contribute to a higher risk for food allergy | The assay detection limit was defined as 6.7 ng/ml for maternal 25(OH)D3 and 5.2 ng/ml for maternal 25(OH)D2. Detection limit for cord blood 25(OH)D3 and D2 was 3 ng/ml |
| Allen et al. (35) | Australian large prospective cohort study | 577 infants, 1 year of age | Vitamin D insufficiency more likely associated with peanut and/or egg allergy. Vitamin D insufficiency linked to multiple food allergies (≥2) rather than a single food allergy | Vitamin D insufficiency: ≤ 50 nmol/L |
| Chiu et al. (36) | Prospective study | 186 children (0–4 years) | Cord blood 25(OH)D levels inversely linked with the risk of milk sensitization at 2 years of age | Low vitamin D levels <20 ng/ml |
| Chawes et al. (37) | Prospective clinical study | 257 children | Cord blood 25(OH) vitamin D levels defined as <50 nmol/L was not associated with allergic sensitization | Cord blood 25(OH)-Vitamin D: deficient, 50 nmol/L; insufficient, 50–75 nmol/L; sufficient, >75 nmol/L |
| Hennessy et al. (38) | Prospective Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study | Vitamin D was measured in maternal sera at 15 weeks of gestation (n = 1,537) and umbilical cord blood (n = 1,050) | The investigators did not observe any association between vitamin D during pregnancy or at birth with allergic disease outcomes at 2 and 5 years old | Maternal 25 (OH) D divided into <30 nmol/L; 30–49.9 nmol/L; 50–74.9 nmol/L; ≥75 nmol/L |
| Ercan et al. (39) | Prospective, observational, case–control study | 111 children <2 years of age | No statistically significant relationship between the CMPA group and healthy controls in terms of 25(OH)D levels | Vitamin D deficiency ≤ 20 ng/ml, insufficiency 21–29 ng/ml, adequate ≥30 ng/ml |
| Sardecka et al. (48) | Prospective two-stage study | 138 infants with CMA and 101 healthy infants | Children with increased Foxp3mRNA expression (predictive of faster gain of tolerance in infants with CMA) have lower serum vitamin D levels than healthy children | 25 (OH)D concentration sufficient ≥30 ng/ml for the Polish population |
| Baek et al. (49) | Cross-sectional study | 226 children aged 3–24 months with atopic dermatitis or suspected food allergy | VDD increased the risk of food allergen sensitization especially to milk and wheat. The polysensitization group had significantly lower levels of 25(OH)D than the non-sensitization and monosensitization group | Serum 25(OH)D levels: deficiency, <20.0 ng/ml; insufficiency, 20.0–29.0 ng/ml; and sufficiency, ≥30.0 ng/ml |
| Rosendahl et al. (50) | Randomized controlled study | 975 infants followed up until 12 months of age | No differences between the vitamin D supplementation groups in food sensitization at 12 months. Possible adverse effect of high concentrations of vitamin D | 25 (OH)D2 considered sufficient for concentrations ≥50 nmol/L |
| Guo et al. (51) | Large observational study | 2,642 children followed up until 2 years of age | No evidence found supporting the link between low levels of 25 (OH)D and allergic sensitization to various allergens | 25(OH)D concentrations insufficient <75 nmol/L and sufficient otherwise |
| Thorisdottir et al. (52) | Longitudinal Icelandic study | 144 children followed up until 6 years of age | At 12 months, IgE-sensitized children had a lower intake of vitamin D, but no significant difference in mean serum 25(OH)D was found between IgE-sensitized and non-sensitized children, nor at 12 months or 6 years | Vitamin D deficient: <30 nmol/L and vitamin D intake from diet and supplements combined did not exceed 25 μg/day in infancy or at 6 years |