Can Vitamin D help protect you against Covid-19?
Evidence from randomised controlled trials suggests regular vitamin D supplementation may help protect against acute respiratory infections.
A meta-analysis brought together results from 25 trials with more than 10,000 participants who were randomised to receive vitamin D or a placebo. It found vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of acute respiratory infections, but only when it was given daily or weekly.
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Seriously ill people also tend to have vitamin D deficiencies—so higher COVID risk may be associated with their illnesses (not vitamin D).
Studies assessing intensive care unit patients have reported high rates of deficiency even before COVID-19. A study found a strong association between vitamin D concentrations and clinical complications (acute respiratory insufficiency, acute liver failure, and infections).
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Vitamin D levels do not seem associated with the higher risk of death from COVID-19 associated with BAME populations.
A 2020 review has found that lower vitamin D levels, among other factors, in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) populations did not account for the disparity in coronavirus deaths within the community.
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Vitamin D may help prevent serious respiratory illnesses, due to its positive effects on the immune system and cytokines (immune molecules).
A 2020 report by Professor Rose Anne Kenny at Trinity College Dublin suggests that Vitamin D might help improve the health of 'shielding' groups—those who are more at risk of developing a serious illness if they catch COVID-19.
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An early (2020) study from Oxford University suggests there's no evidence that Vitamin D protects against the novel coronavirus.
The non-peer reviewed study concluded "there was no evidence related to vitamin D deficiency predisposing to COVID-19, nor were there studies of supplementation for preventing or treating COVID-19."
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A review of research by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests vitamin D doesn't prevent or treat COVID-19.
The review concludes that in the largest UK study (Hastie et al. 2020), "no causal relationship between vitamin D status and COVID-19 was found after adjustment for confounders such as comorbidity, socio-demographics, ethnicity, BMI and other baseline factors."
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Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory illnesses is most beneficial to people with a severe deficiency of the nutrient.
A meta-analysis of 25 trials found the benefits of regular supplementation were greatest among participants who were severely vitamin D deficient to begin with—for whom the risk of respiratory infection went down by 70%. In others, the risk decreased by 25%.
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A small study from the US has found that Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in severe cases of COVID-19.
The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients was 84.6%, compared with 57.1% in floor patients. Strikingly, 100% of ICU patients less than 75 years old had VDI. VDI and severe COVID-19 share numerous associations, including advanced age.
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Research suggests that increased Vitamin D levels can reduce complications of Covid-19
A collaborative team from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Liverpool and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing have been looking at how vitamin D impacts mortality rates among those with coronavirus. They found the number of deaths were lower among those countries.
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Early (2020) research suggests that low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased COVID-19 risks.
Scientists from University of East Anglia compared vitamin D levels and coronavirus rates across European countries, and found low vitamin D was associated with increased risk of coronavirus infection and death from the illness. However, this study hasn't been peer reviewed.