Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to be a
determinant of disease severity in patients with atopic
dermatitis (AD). There is a lack of information on the
prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Malaysian children
with AD. The objective of this study was to determine the
association of vitamin D deficiency with AD severity, to
compare vitamin D deficiency between children with and
without AD and to determine prevalence of vitamin D
deficiency in children with AD.
Methods: A case-control study to examine serum 25-
hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in children with and
without AD was done. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]
level was measured by immunoassay. AD severity was
evaluated using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD)
index.
Results: The serum levels of 25(OH)D, measured in 135
children with AD was not statistically different from 65
children without AD [median (IQR): 25.2ng/mL (15.45) vs
25.9ng/mL (15.87), p=0.616]. However, serum vitamin D
levels were significantly lower in children with severe AD
compared to those with mild-to-moderate AD [median (IQR):
16.0ng/mL (19.32) vs 26.3ng/mL (15.56), p=0.021]. The odds
of having vitamin D deficiency in children with severe AD
was 3.82 times that of children with non-severe AD (95%
confidence level: 1.13, 12.87).
Conclusion: This study suggests that there is an inverse
association between vitamin D level and the severity of AD
in Malaysian children.