ESPE Abstracts

Purpose: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is very common nowadays in children as well as in adults, probably due to decreased exposure to sunlight. COVID-19 pandemic resulted in school closure and decreased outdoor activity in children, which lead to lower chance for exposure to sunlight. It was reported that the higher level of visceral fat was associated with the lower vitamin D levels in children. The aim of this study is whether body mass index (BMI) affect serum vitamin D concentration during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: BMI and serum 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol (vitamin D) concentration were measured in 1429 children (6 to 11 years of age) between August in 2017 and July in 2018 for pre-COVID-19, 1204 children who lived in urban area of Korea between August in 2020 and July in 2021 for post-COVID-19. Student’s t-test and correlation analysis were applied to analyze the relationships between BMI and serum vitamin D concentrations.

Results: The BMI standard deviation score (SDS) was 0.15±1.15 kg/m² and 0.51±1.59 kg/m² in pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19, respectively (P<0.01). The serum vitamin D concentrations were 16.9±7.0 ng/ml and 21.2±7.7 ng/ml in pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19, respectively (P<0.01). The BMI SDS was 0.11±1.27 kg/m² and 0.56±1.78 kg/m² in pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 in boys, respectively (P<0.01). The serum vitamin D concentrations were 18.4±6.7 ng/ml and 21.6±7.8 ng/ml in pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 in boys, respectively (P<0.01). The BMI SDS was 0.16±1.11 kg/m² and 0.46±1.40 kg/m² in pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 in girls, respectively (P<0.01). The serum vitamin D concentrations were 16.4±7.1 ng/ml and 20.9±7.6 ng/ml in pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 in girls, respectively (P<0.01).

Conclusions: This retrospective data suggest that the prevalence of VDD in Korean children during COVID-19 pandemic seemed to decrease, despite of increased BMI. Considering that the target group was children living in urban areas, it is thought to suggest that sufficient vitamin D were taken during COVID-19 pandemic.