Association of serum Vitamin A, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, and phosphorus levels with recurrent acute lower respiratory infections among children

Abstract

Introduction: Acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children younger than 5 years of age all over the world especially in developing countries. Consequently, considerable research has been aimed at finding possible risk factors in ALRI; micronutrients have been considered one of them. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted to determine any association of serum Vitamin A, beta-carotene, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, and phosphorus levels with recurrent ALRI in children <5 years of age. A prospective hospital-based case-control study was planned for a period of 10 months at a tertiary care referral center in central India. Results: A total number of 85 children aged 6 months to 5 years were randomly enrolled in two groups as case, i.e., recurrent ALRI (n=40) and control (n=45). Levels of serum Vitamin A and beta-carotene were found significantly lower in children with recurrent ALRI than in the control group (p<0.05). However, serum levels of calcium, alkaline phosphatase, and phosphorus did not differ significantly when compared with control group (p>0.05). Conclusion: The results provide evidence for the role of Vitamin A and beta-carotene levels in recurrent ALRI in pediatric patients. Our study was not able to find a significant relationship between calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase levels with the occurrence of recurrent ALRI.