Vitamin D supplementation beneficial in children with IBD

Supplementation with vitamin D appears to confer benefits on children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), suggests a recent study.

To examine the effect of vitamin D supplementation on disease activity, quality of life (QOL), inflammatory markers, and cytokines, the investigators randomized 120 children with IBD and hypovitaminosis D to receive either oral vitamin D₃ in a dose of 2,000 IU/day or placebo for 6 months.

The effect of supplementation on the IBD activity score was the primary endpoint, while secondary ones included QOL, inflammatory markers, cytokines, the safety of vitamin D, and the association of serum vitamin D levels with various clinical and laboratory variables.

Vitamin D supplementation resulted in a marked reduction in the IBD activity score in the vitamin D group compared with the placebo group. QOL also showed significant improvements after vitamin D supplementation.

Inflammatory markers such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and faecal calprotectin and interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, IL-17, IL-23, and tumour necrosis factor-alpha significantly decreased in the vitamin D group. IL-10, however, significantly increased after supplementation.

In addition, vitamin D showed a significantly inverse association with the activity score, QOL score, levels of all inflammatory markers, the frequency of hospitalization, and emergency department visits.

“Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory functions,” the investigators noted.