Study of low vitamin D among children with anorexia in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan region, Iraq during summer months

OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency on the development of anorexia in children with mild malnutrition without an obvious cause. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Faruk Medical City, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, between May and September 2018. It included 39 mildly malnourished children with a poor appetite for over 3 months and 156 children who were healthy except for minor illnesses as the control group. All the children were regular attendees at the outpatient clinic and were tested for serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D. We used binary logistic regression statistical analysis to measure the significance of the association between vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency and anorexia with mild malnutrition in young children. RESULTS: Of the 39 children in the anorexia group, 20 had vitamin D deficiency, and the remaining 6 had vitamin D insufficiency. On the other hand, 16 of the remaining children with normal appetites, showed a vitamin D deficiency, and 38 of them displayed insufficiency. Statistically significant association between vitamin D deficiency and anorexia with malnutrition was noted (odd ratio: 9.808; 95% confidence interval: 4.089 - 23.523; p=0.0001), while it was insignificant with vitamin D insufficiency. CONCLUSION: This study displayed a noteworthy relationship between vitamin D deficiency and anorexia with mild malnutrition in young children.