Evaluation of the relationship between vitamin D levels and prevalence of urinary tract infections in children

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is associated with increased health burden among paediatric patients. Vitamin D is known for its immunoregulatory effects, particularly antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between vitamin D levels and UTIs in children referred to a hospital in Khorramabad, Iran. This case–control study was conducted on 258 children aged between 2 and 14 years; 44 children with UTI and 214 healthy children were enrolled. Patients were tested for UTI on the basis of signs and symptoms, and urine culture and analysis. Vitamin D levels were measured in children in both groups. According to the results, the two groups were significantly different in terms of sex (p 0.007). There was no significant difference between the mean vitamin D among the two groups. Vitamin D levels were not related to UTI by multivariate logistic regression. The relationship between the level of vitamin D and the incidence of UTI in children in accordance with age and sex had an odds ratio of 0.99, indicating that for a 1-unit increase in vitamin D, the odds of having a UTI decreased by 1, a correlation which was not statistically significant. According to the findings of this study, no significant correlation was found between UTI and vitamin D levels. However, the prevalence of UTI was higher in girls than boys.