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TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Vitamin D3<\/sub> supplementation does not prolong the time to severe asthma exacerbation among children with persistent asthma and low vitamin D levels, according to a study published in the Aug. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/i>.<\/p>\n Erick Forno, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues randomly assigned high-risk children with asthma (aged 6 to 16 years) taking low-dose inhaled corticosteroids and with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels less than 30 ng\/mL to either 4,000 IU\/day vitamin D3<\/sub> or placebo (96 children in each group) and maintenance with fluticasone propionate. The time to a severe asthma exacerbation was examined as the primary outcome.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 37.5 and 34.4 percent of participants in the vitamin D3<\/sub> and placebo groups, respectively, had one or more severe exacerbations. Vitamin D3<\/sub> supplementation did not significantly improve the time to a severe exacerbation compared with placebo, with a mean time to exacerbation of 240 and 253 days in the vitamin D3<\/sub> and placebo groups, respectively. Compared with placebo, vitamin D3<\/sub> supplementation did not significantly improve the time to a viral-induced severe exacerbation, the proportion of participants whose dose of inhaled corticosteroid was reduced, or the cumulative fluticasone dose.<\/p>\n “Vitamin D3<\/sub> supplementation did not lead to a significant improvement in the time to a severe asthma exacerbation,” the authors write. “Moreover, vitamin D3<\/sub> supplementation had no significant beneficial effects on any of the trial’s secondary end points.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry; Pharmavite provided the vitamin D and placebo capsules, and GlaxoSmithKline provided the Flovent.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n