Prevalence of vitamin D status and its association with overweight or obesity in a population of Colombian children and adolescents

Abstract

The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of 25-OH-D status (insufficiency and deficiency) in children and adolescents residing in Bucaramanga, Colombia and to determine its association with excess weight. A case–control study was nested in the SIMBA II cohort in children and adolescents between the ages of 11 and 20 years old. Cases were defined as those children and adolescents with overweight or obesity. The control group was composed of children and adolescents from the same population sample with similar sociodemographic and economic characteristics but without overweight or obesity diagnosis. 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) was quantified in serum using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between vitamin D status and overweight or obesity adjusted for the main confounding variables. A total of 494 children and adolescents cases were 138 (52⋅17% boys and 47⋅83% girls; median age 16⋅0 [Q1 15; Q3 18]). The median BMI S-Score minors age in the cases was 1⋅36 [Q1 1⋅06; Q3 2⋅00] and BMI (kg/m2) 28⋅0 [Q1 26⋅2; Q3 30⋅8]. The prevalence of vitamin D in the cases was deficiency 16⋅67%, insufficiency 57⋅25%, sufficiency 26⋅09. 25-OH-D insufficiency was associated with overweight or obesity after adjusting for the main confounding variables (OR 1⋅73; 95% CI 1⋅05–2⋅84). Our study concludes that the 25-OH-D insufficiency is common in children and adolescents in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and it was associated with overweight or obesity.

Keywords

• Vitamin D
• 25-OH-D
• Adolescents
• Children
• Cases and Control Study