Improvement in lipid profile after vitamin D supplementation in indigenous argentine school children.

Objective: To determine whether vitamin D supplementation of indigenous school children living at high altitude who are vitamin D insufficient improves lipid profile. Methods: A prospective two-year study evaluated 60 children (29 males) from Hogar School who received 100,000 units of vitamin D and 36children (16 males) from Sosa School who received 50,000 units. Anthropometric measures, Triglycerides (TG), HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, and vitamin D levels were measured in November 2011 and in 2013. Results: Children aged 8.8±2 years with mean z-BMI (-0.43) were evaluated. After vitamin D supplementation, mean vitamin D levels increased from 14.7 to 32.1ng/mL (p<0.01) in Hogar and from 14.6 to 25.1ng/mL (p<0.01) in Sosa School. Furthermore, mean HDL-C increased significantly in Hogar (39.8 to 43.9 mg/dL); while no significant changes were found in Sosa School (44.4 to 45.1mg/dL). Though no significant changes were found in median TG (117 to 111 mg/dL) and TG/HDL (3.0 to 2.7 mg/dL) in Hogar; TG (95 to 111 mg/dL) and TG/HDL-C (2.2 to 2.4 mg/dL) increased significantly in Sosa School. Several multiple linear regression analyses showed that children from Hogar School decreased TG/HDL-C by 1.3 mg/dL (R 2 : 0.14), HDL-c by 3.6 mg/dL (R 2 : 0.13), and TG by 31mg/dL (R 2 : 0.11), adjusted for confounding factors. Conclusions: Indigenous children who received 100,000 u of vitamin D significantly improved vitamin D and lipid levels compared to children who received 50,000 u, suggesting that optimal vitamin D levels are associated with a healthier lipid profile.