title: Vitamin D and atopy and asthma phenotypes in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To give an overview of the recent research into whether a lack of vitamin D contributes to the development of atopy and asthma in childhood.
  
  
  RESULTS
  I describe here the recent epidemiological studies relating vitamin D status to atopy and asthma in children, focusing on determinants of major asthma phenotypes in childhood. Recent findings include the observations that vitamin D levels are inversely associated with degree of corticosteroid use, worsening airflow limitation and increased exacerbations among asthmatics. Low vitamin D has been associated with atopy and asthma in children and adolescents in a community cohort, predominantly in boys, with vitamin D at age 6 predicting these outcomes at 14. I also detail the mechanistic studies examining relevant vitamin D-regulated processes; recent findings include the demonstration that offspring of mice with vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy show reduced lung volume and function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current literature suggests that intervention to ensure adequate vitamin D levels during both pregnancy and childhood may reduce the development of atopy and asthma in children. However, important questions need to be answered regarding the levels of vitamin D required, which may vary between the sexes and between individuals, and the optimal timing and duration of such intervention.
authors.affiliation: Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. elysiah@ichr.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Elysia M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Hollams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D