THE USE OF VITAMIN D AND THE EFFECT ON ASTHMA IN CHILDREN: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lower airways, affects both the respiratory and immune systems, has been increasing in Brazil and poses a problem for public health due to morbidity and mortality along with Vitamin D3 deficiency (vit D3) as it has consequences for quality of life. Therefore, understanding the relationship between vit D3 supplementation in pregnant women and/or children with the exacerbation of asthma in the pediatric population is essential. Conducted an integrative literature review in March 2021. Searched scientific articles in PubMed and BVS databases with the following Health Science Descriptors: “Asthma AND Children AND Vitamin D”. 22 articles were analyzed in which they addressed the effect of vit D3 supplementation in pregnant women, children and its association with asthma. Five articles involved supplementation in children, but without correlating serum vit D and asthma; fifteen articles analyzed the serum level of this vitamin in mothers and children, noticing that the lower the serum level of vit D3 in the participants, the greater the asthma exacerbations; two articles addressed supplementation in pregnant women and found a reduction in asthma in newborns. Vit D3 has receptors in several cells of the human body, including smooth muscle and respiratory tract epithelium, and is responsible for modulating the inflammatory response in asthma, despite the pathophysiology not completely clear. However, the results of supplementation for the prevention and exacerbation of asthma in children are divergent, requiring further studies.