Vitamin A deficiency and wheezing.
BACKGROUND
Vitamin A deficiency may increase the responsiveness of the respiratory tract and increase the risk of respiratory tract infection, resulting in airway obstruction and wheezing. This study aimed to investigate the relation between vitamin A deficiency and infant wheezing.


METHODS
Three ml venous blood samples were collected from 331 hospitalized children who suffered from wheezing to determine the serum vitamin A concentration and the relationship between vitamin A and some causative factors of wheezing.


RESULTS
The severity of vitamin A deficiency was related to the course of wheezing. In the persistent wheezing group, 14 patients (34.1%) were diagnosed as having severe vitamin A deficiency and 16 patients (39%) having moderate vitamin A deficiency; among the acute wheezing group, 18 patients (16.4%) were diagnosed as having severe vitamin A deficiency and 32 patients (29%) having moderate vitamin A deficiency. Comparison of the two groups revealed that there was a significantly higher rate of moderate and severe vitamin A deficiency in the persistent wheezing group than in the acute wheezing group (P<0.01). The severity of vitamin A deficiency was related to the infants' wheezing severity. Severe vitamin A deficiency was found in 24 patients (47%) in the severe wheezing group and 8 (8%) in the mild and moderate wheezing groups. The rate of severe vitamin A deficiency was significantly higher in patients with severe wheezing than in those with mild and moderate wheezing (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum vitamin A deficiency could be commonly found in infants with wheezing. The severity of vitamin A deficiency might be related to the course of wheezing and the infants' wheezing severity.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. luozhengxiu816@163.com
Zheng-Xiu
ZX
Luo
En-Mei
EM
Liu
Jian
J
Luo
Fu-Rong
FR
Li
Su-Bi
SB
Li
Feng-Qiong
FQ
Zeng
Ping
P
Qu
Zhou
Z
Fu
Ting-Yu
TY
Li
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*
D014801:Vitamin A