Serum vitamin D(3) deficiency can affect the efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy in children with allergic rhinitis: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is effective and convenient for many allergic patients but it is still ineffective for many children with allergic rhinitis (AR). In previous studies, most of the patients with poor efficacy of SLIT used the method of individualized adjustment of drug dosage. Currently, there are few reports on the relationship between serum vitamin D(3) level and the efficacy of SLIT. METHODS: In this study, 153 patients with AR who received SLIT were selected as the study objects. All patients collected serum for vitamin D(3) test before treatment. The clinical characteristics of the patients were collected, and all patients were regularly followed up for at least 6 months. The improvement rates were assessed according to the combined symptom medication score (CSMS). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, and the optimal cut-off point was determined according to the Youden index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between serum vitamin D(3) and SLIT efficacy. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed by logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 153 AR patients, 101 patients entered the final statistical analysis. According to CSMS, 29.7% of patients in low response (LR) group. The mean vitamin D(3) level was (20.42±7.48) ng/mL. The optimal cutoff point for vitamin D(3) was 22.25 ng/mL. Univariate logistic regression analysis of SLIT efficacy showed that whether the patient also had a food allergy (P<0.001) or asthma (P=0.011), whether they used acarid products (P=0.002), and whether vitamin D(3) is sufficient (P=0.001) were significantly related to the efficacy of SLIT. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for whether the patient also had asthma and whether they had used acarid products, whether the patient also had a food allergy (OR: 12.13, 95% CI: 3.57–41.18, P<0.001) and whether vitamin D(3) is sufficient (OR: 22.21, 95% CI: 4.04–122.30, P<0.001) were independent factors affecting the efficacy of SLIT. CONCLUSIONS: Serum Vitamin D(3) deficiency can affect the efficacy of SLIT in children with AR. This study provided a new therapeutic approach for SLIT patients with poor efficacy.