Effectiveness of vitamin D3 in severe persistent asthmatic patients: A double blind, randomized, clinical study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the pulmonary function and quality of life in asthma patients receiving vitamin D(3) supplementation with inhaled budesonide and formoterol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a double blinded, randomized, comparative study. Patients were recruited as per the study criteria and randomized into two groups: usual care group (n = 69) patients received budesonide (800 μg) with formoterol (24 μg) and intervention care group (n = 72) patients received vitamin D(3) (1000 IU) supplementation along with budesonide (800 μg) plus formoterol (24 μg) for a period of 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 140 patients completed the study. Significant within-group improvement and non-significant between-group improvement is observed with respect to FEV(1). In terms of health-related quality of life, within-group comparison revealed a significant (P < 0.05) improvement in all the domains of SGRQ. However, between-group comparisons showed statistically significant (P < 0.05) improvement in symptom, impact and total scores. CONCLUSION: On the basis of our findings, we conclude that supplementation of vitamin D(3) is effective in improving the quality of life rather than pulmonary function in severe asthmatics. However, further studies are warranted to substantiate the present findings.