title: Vitamin D and atopic dermatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite the evidence supporting the use of vitamin D supplements for managing atopic dermatitis (AD), no meta-analysis providing definite conclusions in this field has been reported. The purpose of the present study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of all controlled studies of vitamin D for treating AD to elucidate the efficacy of vitamin D for alleviating the symptoms of AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature searches were conducted using Ovid-MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Korean and Chinese databases. Search terms used were "vitamin D", "atopic dermatitis", "randomized", "controlled trial", and "clinical trial". Random effects models were used to calculate the mean difference, with 95% confidence intervals to analyze the effects of vitamin D supplementation for severity of AD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Initial searches yielded 266 citations. Of these original results, nine met specific selection criteria. Four of the randomized controlled trials compared the efficacy of vitamin D with a placebo on severity of AD and were included in the meta-analysis. The vitamin D supplementation interventions showed a higher mean difference in severity of AD symptoms (mean difference = -5.81, 95% CI: -9.03 to -2.59, P = 0.0004, I(2) = 50%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vitamin D has a potentially significant role for improving the symptoms of AD. The results from this study suggest that vitamin D supplementation may help ameliorate the severity of AD, and can be considered as a safe and tolerable therapy. However, larger-scale studies over a longer duration of treatment are needed to confirm this conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea.
authors.forename: Gaeun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea. Electronic address: Jhb@kmu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Ji-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bae
mesh_terms: D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D
keywords: Atopic dermatitis; Meta-analysis; SCORAD index; Systematic review; Vitamin D