{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T10:28:14Z","timestamp":1783074494759,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,20]],"date-time":"2025-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740009600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Oradea"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Otitis media (OM) is a common pediatric condition that significantly impacts hearing, language development, and quality of life. Emerging evidence suggests that vitamin D plays a crucial role in immune regulation and that deficiency may predispose children to recurrent OM. This study aimed to evaluate whether low serum vitamin D levels are associated with increased incidence and severity of OM in children aged 2\u20137 years. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a pediatric otolaryngology clinic in northwest Romania between November 2023 and April 2024. A total of 118 children were enrolled, including 87 children with documented episodes of OM within the preceding six months and 31 quasi-controls without recent OM episodes. Participants were stratified into three age groups (2\u20133, 4\u20135, and 6\u20137 years) and classified into clinical subtypes of OM (Acute Suppurative Otitis Media, Serous Otitis Media, and Acute Congestive Otitis Media). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured using a chemiluminescence immunoassay and categorized as deficient (\u226420 ng\/mL), insufficient (21\u201329 ng\/mL), or sufficient (\u226530 ng\/mL). Statistical analyses included one-way ANOVA with post-hoc tests, chi-square tests, linear regression, logistic regression, and Poisson regression. Results: Children with OM exhibited significantly lower vitamin D levels compared to controls, with the most pronounced deficiency observed in the Acute Suppurative OM group. One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences among the groups (F(3,114) = 82.30, p &lt; 0.001), and linear regression demonstrated a strong inverse correlation between vitamin D levels and the frequency of OM episodes (r = \u22120.793, adjusted R2 = 0.63, p &lt; 0.001). Logistic regression indicated that vitamin D insufficiency significantly increased the odds of OM (OR \u2248 120.74, p &lt; 0.001), while Poisson regression showed incidence rate ratios of 13.62 for deficient and 10.47 for insufficient vitamin D status (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: The findings indicate that low serum vitamin D levels are significantly associated with an increased risk and frequency of otitis media in preschool-aged children. These results support the role of vitamin D deficiency as an independent, modifiable risk factor for recurrent OM, suggesting that vitamin D screening and supplementation could be beneficial in reducing the clinical and economic burden of this condition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15050519","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,20]],"date-time":"2025-02-20T11:03:37Z","timestamp":1740049417000},"page":"519","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Preventing Recurrent Otitis Media in Children Aged 2\u20137 Years: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Serum Vitamin D as a Modifiable Factor"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3410-3870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexia","family":"Manole","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lavinia Florica","family":"M\u0103rcu\u021b","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Disciplines, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-1743-6606","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"R\u0103zvan","family":"C\u00e2rciumaru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2153-1148","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Felicia","family":"Manole","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ENT Department, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2020). 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