The association between vitamin D status and tuberculosis in children: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis (TB), but most studies have not reported a significant association. We conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association between vitamin D status and TB in children. METHODS: Web of Science, Ovid Medline, and EMBASE were searched for studies in English that discussed vitamin D status and TB in children before January 22, 2018. RESULTS: From the 585 initially identified studies, we selected those that addressed an association between vitamin D status and TB according to our preselected inclusion criteria. Our meta-analysis included 10 studies. According to the random effects model, TB was significantly associated with VDD (ORs, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.20–2.42; P < .05) in children. Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in TB patients than in controls, with a mean difference d = −5.49 nmol/L (95% CI, −10.42 to −0.55; P < .05), indicating that VDD was significantly associated with TB (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.30–2.44; P < .05) in children. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that vitamin D levels are significantly lower in children with TB/latent TB infection than in controls. TB may contribute to VDD in children. Therefore, VDD may be associated with TB in children.