Vitamin D [Serum 25(OH) cholecalciferol] Insufficiency is Associated With Childhood Asthma: Recent Case-Control Findings From Bangladesh.

Objectives. To evaluate the interaction between childhood asthma and S. 25(OH) cholecalciferol among Bangladeshi children. Methods. This case control study was conducted in child asthma clinic, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital Institute during March-August 2021. Comparison was made between clinically-diagnosed (following GINA guideline) asthmatic children (2-12 years-old) (cases = 87) and age and sex-matched children having no respiratory illness (controls = 90) using SPSS' (Statistical Package for Social Science, V.23.0 Windows) software. Results. Serum 25(OH) cholecalciferol was found to be significantly lower among the cases than the controls (P < .01). The cases had 3.4 times higher likelihood of having low vitamin D (combined deficient + insufficient) than the controls (P < .01). Conclusions. The results of the study demonstrate an association of Serum 25 (OH) cholecalciferol with asthma which underscores the importance of potential future trial to evaluate the efficacy of Vitamin-D supplementation for understanding the outcomes of asthmatic Bangladeshi children.

Self-reported asthma symptoms in children and adults of Bangladesh: findings of the National Asthma Prevalence Study.

BACKGROUND: No population-based studies to determine the magnitude of the asthma problem have been carried out in Bangladesh. This study aimed to define the prevalence of asthma as well as to identify the risk factors of asthma in the general population of Bangladesh. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1999 to August 1999 on 5642 Bangladeshi people. Data were collected from randomly selected primary sampling units of 8 municipality blocks of 4 large metropolitan cities, 12 municipality blocks of 6 district towns and 12 villages of 6 districts chosen randomly from all 64 districts of the country. Face-to-face interviews were performed with the housewives or other guardians at the household level using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of asthma (wheeze in the last 12 months) was 6.9% (95% CI : 6.2-7.6). The prevalence of other asthma definitions were: ever wheeze (lifetime wheeze) 8.0% (95% CI : 7.3-8.7); perceived asthma (perception of having asthma) 7.6% (95% CI : 6.9-8.3); doctor diagnosed asthma (diagnosis of asthma by any category of doctor either qualified or unqualified) 4.4% (95% CI : 3.9-4.9). The prevalence of asthma in children (5-14 years) was higher than in adults (15-44 years) (7.3% versus 5.3%; odds ratio [OR] = 1.41, 95% CI : 1.09-1.82). Asthma in children was found to be significantly higher in households with