Getting more than 1,000 IU of Vitamin D cut in half childhood risk of influenza, coughs and fevers – Meta-analysis May 2024

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High-dose oral vitamin D supplementation for prevention of infections in children aged 0 to 59 months: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Nutrition Reviews, Volume 82, Issue 5, May 2024, Pages 579–599, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuad082
Janet Adede Carboo, Robin Claire Dolman-Macleod, Linda Malan, Martani Johanni Lombard

Context
Vitamin D plays an important role in immune function, and the deficiency thereof has been associated with several infections, most notably respiratory tract infections. However, data from intervention studies investigating the effect of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on infections have been inconclusive.

Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of evidence regarding the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation above the standard dose (400 IU) in preventing infections in apparently healthy children < 5 years of age.

Data Sources
PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and MEDLINE electronic databases were searched between August 2022 and November 2022. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria.

Data Extraction
Meta-analyses of outcomes in more than one study were performed using Review Manager software. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic. Randomized controlled trials in which vitamin D was supplemented at > 400 IU compared with placebo, no treatment, or standard dose were included.

Data Analysis
Seven trials that enrolled a total of 5748 children were included. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs were calculated using random- and fixed-effects models. There was no significant effect of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection (OR, 0.83; 95%CI, 0.62–1.10).
There was a 57% (95%CI, 0.30–0.61), 56% (95%CI, 0.27–0.07), and 59% (95%CI, 0.26–0.65) reduction in the odds of influenza/cold, cough, and fever incidence, respectively, with daily supplementation of vitamin D > 1000 IU. No effect was found on bronchitis, otitis media, diarrhea/gastroenteritis, primary care visits for infections, hospitalizations, or mortality.

Conclusion
High-dose vitamin D supplementation provided no benefit in preventing upper respiratory tract infections (moderate certainty of evidence) but reduced the incidence influenza/cold (moderate certainty of evidence), cough, and fever (low certainty of evidence). These findings are based on a limited number of trials and should be interpreted with caution. Further research is needed

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86+ VitaminDWiki pages have INFLUENZA OR FLU OR COLD OR COUGH OR FEVER in the title

This list is automatically updated. Does not include hay, bird, vaccination, month, vaccine, swine, or low level

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VitaminDWiki - 83 Infant-Child intervention trials

This list is automatically updated

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VitaminDWiki - 28 Infant-Child Meta-analyses

This list is automatically updated

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Liquid Vitamin D nanoemulsion seems best for children - no swallowing problems, low cost

Nutrasal $25 bottle contains 2,000,000 IU of Vitamin D
If take 20,000 IU weekly (1/2 dropper), one bottle would last 100 weeks
The dose size varies with the child's weight
100 IU/kg/day is a typical recommendation
   which is 700 IU/kg/week
     20,000 IU weekly would be enough for a 28 kg infant

The Nutrasal nanoemulsion:

• Is the lowest cost
• Has a pleasant, somewhat sweet taste,
• Does not need to be taken with a fatty meal
• Can be added to water, juice, etc,
• Can be taken sublingually if there is an upset gut
    or an emergency requires a fast increase in Vitamin D level
    such as: 4X as much just once if Influenza, COVID, pre-surgery,
• Can be used topically for skin problems (warts, abrasions, psoriasis, wounds, etc)