Vitamin D Insufficiency as Risk Factor of Severe Pneumonia in Children

Severe pneumonia is an infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality in children under five. Several risk factors of severe pneumonia have been established, one of them is vitamin D insufficiency. Risk factors for severe pneumonia can help clinicians to provide better quality of life. This research aimed to prove that vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for severe pneumonia in children. This analytical study with case-control design performed in children aged 2 months until 59 months old. Case consisted of 42 subjects who suffered severe pneumonia, while control consisted of 42 subjects who suffered pneumonia. Both groups fulfilled the eligibilities and matched proportionally based on age. The study was conducted from June 2019 to March 2021, level of 25(OH) D was checked in both groups. Data was analyzed by Chi-square test and logistic regression with significant level set at p<0, 05. Total eighty-four subjects with median age 11, 5 month were included in this study and most of them were male (59, 5%). The risk factors of severe pneumonia was vitamin D insufficiency with adjusted odds ratio 4.71 (CI95% 1.15-19.31, p=0.031) and exposure of cigarette smoke with adjusted odds ratio 5.19 (CI95% 1.76-15.31, p=0.003). There was no association of gender, mild malnutrition, non-exclusive breastfeeding and incomplete immunization in this study. Vitamin D insufficiency is a risk factor for severe pneumonia in children.