Vitamin D and atopic dermatitis in childhood

Vitamin d features immunomodulatory effects on both the innate and adaptive immune systems,which may explain the growing evidence connecting vitamin d to allergic diseases. a wealth of studies describing a beneficial effect of vitamin d on atopic dermatitis (ad) prevalence and severity are known. however,observations linking high vitamin d levels to an increased risk of developing ad have also been published,effectively creating a controversy. in this paper,we review the existing literature on the association between ad and vitamin d levels,focusing on childhood. as of today,the role of vitamin d in ad is far from clear; additional studies are particularly needed in order to confirm the promising therapeutic role of vitamin d supplementation in childhood ad. © 2015 michelangelo vestita et al.