| Title: | Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status and respiratory tract infections requiring hospital admission: unmatched case-control analysis of ethnic groups from the UK Biobank cohort |
| Journal: | American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| Published: | 29 Dec 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41475552/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.101179 |
Publication 16959
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D status has been found to be inversely associated with risk of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). While vitamin D status varies by ethnicity, the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and RTIs in UK ethnic groups remains unclear.</p>
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between serum 25(OH)D status and hospitalisation for RTI in UK adults.</p>
METHODS: An unmatched case-control study was conducted using data from UK Biobank, which includes 500k adults with serum 25(OH)D status and hospital episodes from linked records. Survival analyses and binary logistic regression models were used to explore the association between serum 25(OH)D and RTIs.</p>
RESULTS: Of the 36,258 participants included in the analysis, 34% were white, 28% Asian, 19% black, 11% other, and 7% of mixed ethnicity. The RTI rate was 8.5% (median time to RTI, 14.8 years). Higher serum 25(OH)D (each +10nmol/L increase) was significantly associated with a 4% lower hazard ratio (HR) for RTI hospitalisation (HR: 0.96, 95% CI, 0.94, 0.99). When stratifying for serum 25(OH)D, compared to those ≥75 nmol/L (reference), those with <15 nmol/L had a higher HR for RTI hospitalisation (HR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.67). Categories 15-24 nmol/L, 24-49 nmol/L, 50-74 nmol/L were not statistically significant. Logistic regression models supported the above findings. Inclusion of an interaction term for 25(OH)D x ethnicity was trialled in the survival analysis, but the interaction term was not statistically significant.</p>
CONCLUSIONS: Serum 25(OH)D status below 15 nmol/L is associated with 33% higher HR for RTI hospitalisation among UK adults, compared with ≥ 75 nmol/L. Further studies are warranted to validate these findings and explore the mechanisms underlying the association between vitamin D status and RTIs in different ethnic groups.</p>
10 Authors
- Abigail R Bournot
- Kathryn H Hart
- S Johnsen
- D Ian Givens
- Julie A Lovegrove
- José M Ordóñez-Mena
- Simon de Lusignan
- David B Bartlett
- Susan A Lanham-New
- Andrea L Darling
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 98169 | Genetic, metabolomic, biochemical, anthropometric and lifestyle predictors of health and disease |
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