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The Effect of Vitamin D₃ Supplementation on Diarrhea Frequency, Duration, and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) in Children with Diarrhea

Satrio Wibowo ORCID
Division of Gastroenterohepatology, Department of Pediatrics, Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65122, Indonesia
Kirnia Tri Wulandari ORCID
Division of Gastroenterohepatology, Department of Pediatrics, Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65122, Indonesia
Nurlinah Amalia ORCID
Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia; Medical Research Center of Indonesia, Surabaya 61257, Indonesia

Received: 4 August 2025; Revised: 29 September 2025; Accepted: 22 October 2025; Published: 4 February 2026

Abstract

Diarrhea remains a major cause of morbidity in children under five, and although current management is mainly supportive, Vitamin D₃ supplementation has emerged as a potential immunomodulatory approach whose clinical efficacy requires further clarification. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Vitamin D₃ supplementation on clinical outcomes, specifically diarrhea frequency, duration, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in children with acute diarrhea. This single-blind, randomized controlled trial employed a pre-post test control group design involving 34 pediatric patients with diarrhea. Participants were allocated into two groups: one receiving standard therapy alone (control) and the other receiving standard therapy plus oral Vitamin D₃ supplementation for 14 days. Outcome measures included diarrhea frequency, duration, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), evaluated pre-post intervention. Post-intervention analysis showed significant improvements in the intervention group compared to controls: shortened diarrhea duration (p = 0.002), reduced diarrhea frequency (p = 0.000), but no significant with NLR reduction (p = 0.124); however, the median delta NLR decreased more in the Vitamin D₃ group (−2.57) than in the control group (−0.13) (p = 0.031). No significant differences in dehydration status were observed between groups (p = 1.000). The intervention group also exhibited a marked increase in serum 25(OH)D levels post-supplementation (p = 0.000). However, after adjusting for baseline NLR using ANCOVA, the reduction was no longer directly attributable to the intervention (p = 0.09), though a strong trend favoring the Vitamin D group persisted. Vitamin D₃ supplementation may serve as an adjunctive immunotherapy, as it demonstrated beneficial effects on clinical outcomes in pediatric diarrhea, suggesting its potential through anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties.

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