by Aimee Keenan-Greene

A new study in the upcoming June issue of Pediatricssays infants who are vitamin D deficient at birth have a higher risk of developing RSV.

Respiratory  syncytial virus (RSV) is a pathogen that causes lower respiratory tract infections in infants.
 
RSV is the most common cause of  bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under one. The majority of children hospitalized for RSV infection are under 6 months of age.  After childhood, RSV causes repeated infections with moderate-to-severe cold-like symptoms although severe lower respiratory tract disease may occur with RSV at any age. 
 
The CDC says RSV is a contagious viral disease that can  infect a person's lungs and breathing passages:

  • Almost every child gets RSV by age 2
  • Premature infants or those with lung or heart problems are especially at risk for serious disease.
  • Children get a fever, reduced appetite, runny nose, cough, and wheezing

In the latest study, researchers in the Netherlands found 54 percent of healthy newborns were born with insufficient vitamin D, and 12 percent infants (18 children) developed RSV lower respiratory tract infections within the first year of life. 
 
Infants with low concentrations of vitamin D had six times the risk of developing RSV infections compared to infants with the highest levels of vitamin D. 
 
Only 46 percent of women in the study reported taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy. 
 
The study, “Cord Blood Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Tract Infection,” measured the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the cord blood plasma of 156 newborns. 
 
The Institute of Medicine  set the first formal recommendations for daily intakes of calcium and vitamin D, and most people are already getting enough.
 
According to the report, children and adults younger than 71 need no more than 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D a day and should consume 700 to 1,300 milligrams of calcium a day.

Additional Resources:

RSV - Women and Infants Hospital, Providence Rhode Island