Table 6.
(a) Vitamin D supplementation for treatment childhood respiratory tract infections; (b) Vitamin D supplementation for prevention of childhood respiratory tract infections.
| Study | Author | Country | Study Population | Dosage | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Vitamin D supplementation for treatment childhood respiratory tract infections | |||||
| Effects of vitamin D supplementation to children diagnosed with pneumonia in Kabul: a randomised controlled trial. |
Manaseki-Holland et al., 2010 [155] |
Afghanistan | 453 children with pneumonia | Single dose 100,000 IU | No significant difference in the number of days needed to recover. Lower risk of recurrence in the intervention group. |
| Vitamin D supplementation for severe pneumonia—a randomized controlled trial. | Choudhary et al., 2012 [157] |
India | 200 children with severe pneumonia | 1000 IU if <1 y or 2000 IU if >1 y, once a day for 5 days | No beneficial effects on resolution of severe pneumonia. |
| Trial of vitamin D supplementation in infants with bronchiolitis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. | Saad et al., 2015 [161] |
Egypt | 89 infants with bronchiolitis | 100 IU/kg/day for at least 5 days during hospital stay | Significant improvement in the duration of hospitalization and time taken to improve oral feeding. |
| Efficacy of vitamin D in children with pneumonia: a randomized control trial study. | Dhungel et al., 2015 [162] |
Pakistan | 200 children with pneumonia | Single dose 100,000 IU | Lower recurrence of pneumonia, similar duration of hospital stay. |
| The effects of vitamin D supplementation in respiratory index of severity in children (risc) of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia: a double-blind randomized clinical trial | Rahmati et al., 2016 [164] |
Iran | Children hospitalized with pneumonia. | 50,000 IU per day for 2 days | Lower duration of antibiotic use; other clinical characteristics were similar (fever, retractions, tachypnea, poor feeding, etc.). |
| Vitamin D supplementation for treatment and prevention of pneumonia in under-5 children: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. |
Gupta et al., 2016 [165] |
India | 324 children with severe pneumonia | Single dose 100,000 IU | No significant difference in duration of hospitalization, complete resolution of symptoms and risk of recurrent pneumonia; slightly quicker resolution of severe respiratory distress (1 h). |
| Therapeutic effect of vitamin D in acute lower respiratory infection: A randomized controlled trial. | Somnath et al., 2017 [166] |
India | 154 children with ALRI | Single dose 100,000 IU | No significant difference in the duration of hospital stay nor in the secondary outcomes (mortality, PICU admissions, complications, recurrence, etc.). |
| Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation in the Prevention of Recurrent Pneumonia in Under-5 Children. | Singh et al., 2019 [169] |
India | 100 children with pneumonia | 300,000 IU quarterly | No significant difference in ARI recurrence. |
| (b) Vitamin D supplementation for prevention of childhood respiratory tract infections | |||||
| Randomized trial vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. Influenza children. | Urashima et al., 2010 [156] | Japan | Over 300 schoolchildren | 1200 IU/die during winter months | Reduced influenza A infections. |
| Effect on the incidence of pneumonia of vitamin D supplementation by quarterly bolus dose to infants in Kabul: a randomised controlled superiority trial. | Manaseki-Holland et al., 2012 [158] |
Afghanistan | Over 3000 children | 100,000 IU once every 3 months for 18 months | No decrease in incidence of pneumonia. |
| Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation and risk of acute respiratory infection in Mongolia. | Camargo et al., 2012 [159] | Mongolia | 247 children | Milk fortified with vitamin D from January to March | Significantly lower ARI episodes during the study period. Baseline serum vitamin D level: 7 ng/mL. |
| Effects of vitamin D supplements on influenza A illness during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic: a randomized controlled trial. |
Urashima et al., 2014 [160] | Japan | 247 high school students | 2000 IU/day for 2 months | No decrease in incidence of influenza A infections. |
| Reduced primary care respiratory infection visits following pregnancy and infancy vitamin D supplementation: a randomised controlled trial. | Grant et al., 2015 [163] | New Zealand | Healthy pregnant women and their infants up to 6 months of age | Standard daily dose (1000 IU/400 IU) vs. high dose (2000 IU/800 IU) | Less primary care visits for ARI up to age 18 months. |
| Preventive effects of vitamin D on seasonal influenza A in infants: a multicenter, randomized, open, controlled clinical trial. | Zhou et al., 2018 [167] | China | 400 infants | Low dose (400 IU) vs. high dose (1200 IU) daily for 4 months | More frequent influenza A infection in the low dose group. |
| Vitamin D Supplementation Associated with Acute Respiratory Infection in Exclusively Breastfed Infants. | Miao Hong et al., 2019 [168] |
China | Infants up to 6 months | 400–600 IU/day from birth to 6 months of age | Longer period before the first ARI episode in infants with supplementation. |
| Effect of Vitamin D supplementation to reduce respiratory infections in children and adolescents in Vietnam: A randomized controlled trial. | Loeb et al., 2019 [170] | Vietnam | 1330 healthy children and adolescents | 14,000 IU/week for 8 months | Similar incidence of influenza but moderately reduced incidence of other respiratory viral infections. |
ARI, acute respiratory infection. PICU, pediatric intensive care unit.