High quality evidence suggests vitamin D can reduce asthma1 attacks A new Cochrane Review,
published in the Cochrane Library today and presented at the ERS International Congress,
has found evidence from randomised trials, that taking an oral vitamin D supplement in add
ition to standard asthma medication is likely to reduce severe asthma attacks. Asthma is a
common chronic2 disease affecting about 300 million people worldwide. The symptoms of ast
hma include wheezing3, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.Low blood levels
of vitamin D have been linked to increased risk of asthma attacks in children and adults w
ith asthma. There has been a growing interest in the potential role of vitamin D in asthma
management because it might help to reduce upper respiratory infections, (such as the com
mon cold) that can lead to exacerbations of asthma. The researchers found that giving an o
ral vitamin D supplement reduced the risk of severe asthma attacks requiring hospital admi
ssion or emergency department attendance from 6% to around 3%.They also found that vitamin
D supplementation reduced the rate of asthma attacks needing treatment with steroid table
ts. These results are based largely on trials in adults. They also found that vitamin D di
d not improve lung function or day-to-day asthma symptoms, and that it did not increase th
e risk of side effects at the doses that were tested.