Conclusions The available very low to low quality evidence does not confirm or rule out beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation in children with asthma .
Background Epidemiologic studies suggest an association between vitamin D deficiency and atopic diseases , including asthma .
The objective of this study was to systematic ally review the benefits and harms of vitamin D supplementation in children with asthma .
Vitamin D for health: a global perspective.
It is now generally accepted that vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide health problem that affects not only musculoskeletal health but also a wide range of acute and chronic diseases . However , there remains cynicism about the lack of r and omized controlled trials to support the association studies regarding the nonskeletal health benefits of vitamin D. This review was obtained by search ing English- language studies published up to April 1 , 2013 , in PubMed , MEDLINE , and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials ( search terms : vitamin D and supplementation ) and focuses on recent challenges regarding the definition of vitamin D deficiency and how to achieve optimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations from dietary sources , supplements , and sun exposure . The effect of vitamin D on fetal programming epigenetics and gene regulation could potentially explain why vitamin D has been reported to have such wide-ranging health benefits throughout life . There is potentially a great upside to increasing the vitamin D status of children and adults worldwide for improving musculoskeletal health and reducing the risk of chronic illnesses , including some cancers , autoimmune diseases , infectious diseases , type 2 diabetes mellitus , neurocognitive disorders , and mortality
Conclusions The available very low to low quality evidence does not confirm or rule out beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation in children with asthma .
Background Epidemiologic studies suggest an association between vitamin D deficiency and atopic diseases , including asthma .
The objective of this study was to systematic ally review the benefits and harms of vitamin D supplementation in children with asthma .