Asthma is a very common long term condition, affecting around 5.4 million people in the UK. Asthma causes an inflammation of the airways, often resulting in wheezing, coughing, a tight chest, and difficulty in breathing. Currently, there is no cure for asthma which makes treatment and prevention vital for improving the health and wellbeing of individuals with asthma.

Vitamin D is an important nutrient, mostly sourced from sunlight but also found in foods such as fish and eggs. Insufficiency of vitamin D is common and often attributed to dietary, lifestyle, and behavioural changes. It is well known that vitamin D is linked to healthy bones but more recently its effects have been related to asthma prevention and control.

Scientifically speaking, adding vitamin D to blood samples has been found to result in lower levels of interleukin-17 (an over-active component of the immune system during asthma attacks). From this, scientists have suggested that vitamin D may have steroid enhancing properties in asthmatics, therefore helping to reduce the effects of the condition.

Similarly, a recent study has looked into the association between asthma and vitamin D in adults. They found that vitamin D insufficiency was highest in those with severe and uncontrolled asthma, suggesting that vitamin D may have a crucial role in preventing and treating asthma.

Future research now aims to look into the whether vitamin D as a supplement has the same effects in improving asthma conditions. This has the potential to provide an alternative way to help asthmatics, especially for those that are resistant to steroids.

So, it looks like sunlight along with a good diet including fish and eggs could be beneficial to asthmatics, and future research may help to determine this and identify how these findings can be implemented. But for now what does seem clear is that vitamin D is a vital nutrient that we can get from some sun exposure and through having a healthy diet. As always, it is important to take care in the sun, using sunscreen or covering up to prevent sunburn.  Finally, if you do take vitamin D supplements, it is important not to exceed the recommended dosage, as it could potentially have harmful effects.

Adie Blanchard – Researcher

References

Korn, S., Hübner, M., Jung, M., Blettner, M., & Buhl, R. (2013). Severe and uncontrolled adult asthma is associated with vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency. Respiratory research, 14(1), 25.

Nanzer, A., Chambers, E. S., Ryanna, K., Richards, D. F., Black, C. et al. (2013 Enhanced production of IL-17A in patients with severe asthma is inhibited by 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in a glucocorticoid-independent fashion. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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