Children with Celiac Disease were 2.6X more-likely to be vitamin D deficient

Lower Level of Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in Children at Diagnosis of Celiac Disease Compared with Healthy Subjects: A Case-Control Study

J Pediatr. 2020 Sep 1;S0022-3476(20)31125-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.08.089

Elena Lionetti 1, Tiziana Galeazzi 2, Vera Dominjanni 2, Ilaria Acquaviva 2, Giulia N Catassi 2, Mario Iasevoli 3, Basilio Malamisura 3, Carlo Catassi 4

Objective: To evaluate the vitamin D status of children with a new diagnosis of celiac disease compared with healthy controls.

Study design: This was a case-control study. Cases were consecutive children with newly diagnosed celiac disease. Controls were healthy children matched for age, sex, ethnicity, and month of blood testing. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) was measured as the index of vitamin D nutritional status. The Student t test were used for comparisons. Differences in frequencies were evaluated with the χ2 test. Associations between variables were estimated by calculating Pearson correlation coefficients.

Results: 131 children with celiac disease were enrolled (62% females, mean age 8.1±1.1 years). The control group included 131 healthy children (62% females, mean age 8.2±1.2). All were of European origin. Plasma 25-OHD levels were significantly lower in patients than in control subjects (25.3±8.0 and 31.6±13.7 ng/ml; P < .0001). The percentage of children with vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) was significantly higher in celiac disease children as compared with controls ( 31% vs 12% ; p<0.0001). The concentration of 25-OHD was significantly lower in patients than in controls during summer (p<0.01), and autumn (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: In this case-control study, at diagnosis, children with celiac disease showed lower levels of plasma 25-OHD compared with healthy subjects. Vitamin D status should be checked at diagnosis of celiac disease, particularly during summer and fall months.