Vitamin D status and asthma, lung function, and hospitalization among British adults
Yiqun Zhu, Danrong Jing, Huaying Liang, Dianwu Li, Qinyu Chang, Minxue Shen, Pinhua Pan, Hong Liu, Yan Zhang
Abstract
Background Vitamin D has been known to be associated with asthma. However, the association between vitamin D status and asthma, lung function as well as hospitalization among adults remains unclear. Objective To investigate the role of serum vitamin D in asthma prevalence, lung function, and asthma control in adults. Methods Multivariable logistic regression was applied to assess the relationship between serum vitamin D and asthma prevalence, lung function (FEV1, FVC, and FEV1/FVC), current wheeze, and asthma-linked hospitalizations in a cross-sectional study of 435,040 adults aged 37–73 years old from the UK Biobank. Results Compared to vitamin D deficiency, the odds of asthma were decreased by 6.4% [adjusted odds ratio ( aOR ) = 0.936; 95% CI : 0.911–0.962; p < 0.001] and 9.8% ( aOR = 0. 0.902; 95% CI : 0.877–0. 0.927; p < 0.001) in individuals with insufficient and optimal vitamin D concentration, respectively, in the fully adjusted model. In total asthmatic patients, serum vitamin D was obviously and positively related with FEV1 (β = 1.328 ml, 95% CI = 0.575–2.080), FVC (β = 2.018 ml, 95% CI = 1.127–2.908), and FEV1/FVC (β = 0.006%, 95% CI = 0.002–0.010). Asthmatic patients whose vitamin D level was in the deficient category had 9.3–19.9% higher odds of current wheeze than insufficient categories ( aOR = 0.907; 95% CI : 0.861–0.957; p < 0.001) and optimal categories ( aOR = 0.801; 95% CI : 0.759–0.845; p < 0.001), but the relationship between vitamin D and asthma hospitalization was not significant. Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency was related to higher odds of asthma and current wheeze, and lower lung function in a large sample size study of British adults. Our results indicate a potential positive impact of serum vitamin D on asthma occurrence and disease control in adults.