New study: Many Covid patients have a vitamin D deficiency

Crystal Cox / Business Insider

It is increasingly evident that vitamin D can influence the risk of Covid 19 disease and its severity.

One of the most recent studies on the subject, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that 80% of patients with Covid-19 in a Spanish hospital were deficient in the solar vitamin.

These findings suggest that identifying and treating Covid-19 patients with a vitamin D deficiency could contribute to milder disease courses. Especially for those who are at greater risk of serious Covid 19 disease, such as the elderly.

Among healthy people, only 47% had a vitamin D deficiency.

As part of the study, the researchers compared the vitamin D values ​​of 216 Covid-19 patients at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital with the values ​​of 197 healthy people. Both groups were similar in terms of demographics such as age and gender.

They also looked at whether the severity of the hospitalized people’s illness was related to how high or low their vitamin D levels were.

Patients taking vitamin D supplements were not included in the study. The researchers found that 82.2 percent of patients with Covid 19 had a vitamin D deficiency. In the comparison group of healthy people, however, it was only 47.2 percent. Overall, the vitamin D values ​​of male patients with Covid 19 were lower than those of women.

The study authors also found that Covid-19 patients with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to suffer from hypertension and heart disease. They also showed higher markers of inflammation and their hospital stays were longer.

Vitamin D treatment is recommended for Covid 19 patients with low blood levels of vitamin D

Interestingly, however, the study showed no association between vitamin D deficiency and disease severity. There was no evidence that patients with particularly low vitamin D levels were more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit, connected to ventilators, or to die.

However, the 19 coronavirus patients who took vitamin D supplements suffered from somewhat more severe illness. They were admitted to the ICU more often than those who did not take supplements.

This finding can be explained, at least in part, by the fact that those most in need of vitamin D supplements, such as the elderly at the highest risk of fractures, are also those most prone to severe Covid-19 disease. Six of these 19 people had also taken corticosteroids or immunosuppressants in the previous three months, which may also have affected the severity of the disease.

The findings suggest that “vitamin D treatment is recommended for Covid 19 patients with low blood levels of vitamin D. This therapeutic approach could have positive effects on both the immune and locomotor systems, “writes study co-author José L. Hernández of the Spanish University of Cantabria in Santander in a press release.

Read also

Daily Aspirin: The active ingredient ASA can apparently ward off a severe course of Covid-19

Vitamin D supports the immune system but is not a cure or a defense mechanism against Covid-19

How vitamin D affects coronavirus risk and severity has been of interest to researchers since the start of the pandemic.

A study with 76 patients with Covid-19 was also conducted in Spain at the beginning of October. Patients who received a metabolized form of vitamin D3 – this is how vitamin D levels can be increased rapidly – received significantly less intensive care and none of them died, Gabby Landsverk reported for Business Insider.

Of the 26 patients who did not receive supplements in comparison, 13 were admitted to the intensive care unit and two died.

Another study, conducted in Italy in August, showed that about half of the 42 patients with severe vitamin D deficiency died after ten days in hospital. In contrast, only 5% of patients with adequate vitamin D levels died.

Other studies around the world have also found that higher vitamin D levels are associated with milder illnesses. Countries where vitamin D levels are higher on average also tend to have fewer deaths from Covid-19.

This relationship can be explained by the fact that vitamin D substantially strengthens the body’s ability to fight viruses. It can help suppress cytokine storms or an immune system overreaction to viral invasion – these phenomena affect many seriously ill patients, as previously reported by Susie Neilson for Business Insider.

However, other factors could also play a role: People who live in overcrowded apartments or who do important work for many hours in closed rooms rarely get enough vitamin D from sunlight and are also more likely to be exposed to an infection. COVID-19.

However, a sufficient – if not too high – intake of vitamin D is important not only for potential protection against the coronavirus, but for overall health: be it through sunlight, dietary supplements or certain foods such as oily fish.

Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to heart disease, diabetes, immune system disorders, certain cancers, and bone problems such as osteoporosis.

This article was translated from English and edited by Ilona Tomić. You can read the original here.

5 things that can strengthen your immune system in the time of the coronavirus and 5 things that are useless

10 images
Open the image gallery