Do infants with cow's milk protein allergy have inadequate levels of vitamin D? [Lactentes com alergia à proteína do leite de vaca apresentam níveis inadequados de vitamina D?]

Objective to verify whether infants with cow's milk protein allergy have inadequate vitamin d levels. methods this cross-sectional study included 120 children aged 2 years or younger,one group with cow's milk protein allergy and a control group. the children were recruited at the pediatric gastroenterology,allergology,and pediatric outpatient clinics of a university hospital in the northeast of brazil. a questionnaire was administered to the caregiver and blood samples were collected for vitamin d quantification. vitamin d levels <30 ng/ml were considered inadequate. vitamin d level was expressed as mean and standard deviation,and the frequency of the degrees of sufficiency and other variables,as proportions. results infants with cow's milk protein allergy had lower mean vitamin d levels (30.93 vs.35.29 ng/ml; p = 0.041) and higher deficiency frequency (20.3% vs.8.2; p = 0.049) than the healthy controls. exclusively or predominantly breastfed infants with cow's milk protein allergy had higher frequency of inadequate vitamin d levels (p = 0.002). regardless of sun exposure time,the groups had similar frequencies of inadequate vitamin d levels (p = 0.972). conclusions lower vitamin d levels were found in infants with cmpa,especially those who were exclusively or predominantly breastfed,making these infants a possible risk group for vitamin d deficiency. © 2017 sociedade brasileira de pediatria