Multicentric Italian case–control study on 25OH vitamin D levels in children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome

Purpose25OHD levels in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), the most frequent cause of genetic obesity with a peculiar fat mass distribution, are still debated. Insulin resistance (IR), Body Mass Index-SDS (BMI-SDS), Growth Hormone Therapy (GHT), and puberty onset seem to interact with 25OHD levels. The objectives of the study are: (1) To analyze 25OHD levels in pediatric PWS patients in comparison with a control group (CNT) (2) To evaluate a possible correlation between BMI-SDS, HOMA-IR, puberty, GHT, and 25OHD levels.MethodsThis is a retrospective case-control, multicenter study. Data were collected among 8 different Italian Hospitals (outpatient clinics), over a period of four years (2016-2020). We included 192 genetically confirmed PWS and 192 CNT patients, aged 3-18 years, matched 1:1 for age, gender, BMI-SDS, Tanner stage, sun exposure, and month of recruitment.ResultsNo statistically significant differences in 25OHD levels were observed between the PWS population and the CNT (PWS 24.0 ng/mL vs CNT 22.5 ng/mL, p > 0.05), OR = 0.89 (95% CI 0.58-1.35). We observed a slight, although non-significant, reduction in 25OHD levels comparing NW and OB populations. HOMA-IR, puberty onset, genotype and GHT (previous or ongoing) did not show statistically significant correlation with 25OHD levels.ConclusionsOur findings could be useful for clinicians to optimize the therapeutic management as well as to increase awareness of PWS.