Vitamin D deficiency has long been associated with reduced immune function that can lead to viral infection. Several studies have shown that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increases the risk of infection with COVID-19. However, it is unknown if treatment with Vitamin D can reduce the associated risk of COVID-19 infection, which is the focus of this study. In the population of US veterans, we show that Vitamin D2 and D3 fills were associated with reductions in COVID-19 infection of 28% and 20%, respectively [(D3 Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.80, [95% CI 0.77, 0.83]), D2 HR = 0.72, [95% CI 0.65, 0.79]]. Mortality within 30-days of COVID-19 infection was similarly 33% lower with Vitamin D3 and 25% lower with D2 (D3 HR = 0.67, [95% CI 0.59, 0.75]; D2 HR = 0.75, [95% CI 0.55, 1.04]). We also find that after controlling for vitamin D blood levels, veterans receiving higher dosages of Vitamin D obtained greater benefits from supplementation than veterans receiving lower dosages. Veterans with Vitamin D blood levels between 0 and 19 ng/ml exhibited the largest decrease in COVID-19 infection following supplementation. Black veterans received greater associated COVID-19 risk reductions with supplementation than White veterans. As a safe, widely available, and affordable treatment, Vitamin D may help to reduce the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adults and children have differences in their susceptibility to schistosomiasis. The relative influences of agedependent innate resistance and acquired immunity in the differences between susceptibility to schistosomiasis are difficult to assess in humans. Therefore, we exposed juvenile and adult female rhesus monkeys to primary infection with Schistosoma mansoni. In contrast to the adult animals, the juvenile rhesus monkeys had low levels of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells after schistosome infection, as well as lower levels of parasite-antigen-specific antibody (IgG, IgM, and IgA) responses, and produced limited antigen-specific or total IgE. Juvenile animals had statistically nonsignificant increased worm burdens and tissue or fecal egg counts, compared with that of adults, whereas circulating schistosome antigens were significantly higher in infected juvenile monkeys. These results suggest that juvenile rhesus monkeys have reduced type 2 cytokine responses after primary schistosome infections and perhaps are more susceptible to parasite infection.Schistosomiasis affects 1250 million people worldwide. The disease is caused by infection with trematode parasites of the Schistosoma species. Extensive epidemiology studies on human populations in endemic countries have shown that adults generally have lower intensities of schistosome infection than do children. The reduced levels of Schistosoma mansoni infections in adults are par-
Objective To derive and validate a new ecological measure of the social determinants of health (SDoH), calculable at the zip code or county level. Data Sources and Study Setting The most recent releases of secondary, publicly available data were collected from national U.S. health agencies as well as state and city public health departments. Study Design The Social Vulnerability Metric (SVM) was constructed from U.S. zip‐code level measures (2018) from survey data using multidimensional Item Response Theory and validated using outcomes including all‐cause mortality (2016), COVID‐19 vaccination (2021), and emergency department visits for asthma (2018). The SVM was also compared with the existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to determine convergent validity and differential predictive validity. Data Collection/Extraction Methods The data were collected directly from published files available to the public online from national U.S. health agencies as well as state and city public health departments. Principal Findings The correlation between SVM scores and national age‐adjusted county all‐cause mortality was r = 0.68. This correlation demonstrated the SVM's robust validity and outperformed the SVI with an almost four‐fold increase in explained variance (46% vs. 12%). The SVM was also highly correlated (r ≥ 0.60) to zip‐code level health outcomes for the state of California and city of Chicago. Conclusions The SVM offers a measurement tool improving upon the performance of existing SDoH composite measures and has broad applicability to public health that may help in directing future policies and interventions. The SVM provides a single measure of SDoH that better quantifies associations with health outcomes.
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