Frequency of COVID-19 Infection as a Function of Vitamin D Levels

Abstract

Background: It has been speculated that higher concentrations of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25OHD) provide some protection against COVID-19. We assessed whether there is any relationship between 25OHD concentrations and the subsequent development of COVID-19 infection. Materials and Methods: Concentrations of 25OHD were measured in March–April 2020 in 134 healthy subjects (57 males), age range 6–50, from a single urban general practice in central Poland. Data on COVID-19 infection during the subsequent 12 months (prior to the vaccination program) were obtained from the national database of COVID-19 cases. None of the subjects received any 25OHD supplements. Results: The average 25OHD concentrations were 18.1 ± 7.39 ng/mL (37.3% had 25OHD above 20 ng/mL). Thirty-one (23.1%) patients developed COVID-19 infection, but an increased risk was only observed in individuals with 25OHD concentrations below 12 ng/mL (COVID-19 infection in 11 out of 25 patients (44%) with 25OHD < 12 ng/mL versus 20 out of 109 (18.3%) for those with 25OHD above 12 ng/mL, p = 0.0063). Such a relationship was no longer observed for subjects with 25OHD concentrations above 20 ng/mL (p = 0.2787). Conclusions: Although only a minority of healthy subjects had 25OHD concentrations above 20 ng/mL in spring, an increased risk of subsequent COVID-19 infection was only observed in those with severe 25OHD deficiency (<12 ng/mL).

The Variability of Vitamin D Concentrations in Short Children with Short Stature from Central Poland—The Effects of Insolation, Supplementation, and COVID-19 Pandemic Isolation

“…There are also suggestions that vitamin D may be the link between these phenomena [43]. This hypothesis may be supported to some extent by a very recent observation of Polish authors that the risk of COVID-19 infection was increased in subjects with severe 25(OH)D deficiency (below 12 ng/mL) [51].…”

Role of Vitamin D and Vitamin D Polymorphisms in COVID-19 Risk and Severity in Children: A Systematic Review

“…PIMS-TS: pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2; BAME: Black, Asian, and minority ethnic; MIS-C: multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children Vitamin D levels and COVID-19 risk and severity: The current review addressed the effect of low vitamin D levels on COVID-19 infection risk. Patients with vitamin D deficiency were more likely to develop COVID-19 infection and according to the provided data, low vitamin D levels were found to constitute an independent risk factor for the infection (p < 0.001)[12,14,28]. A…”

“…Selected studies included data from pediatric patients (aged <19 years), while five studies included both pediatric and adult cases [10][11][12][13][14]. The selected studies included retrospective studies (16/26 with six cohort studies included), prospective studies (4/26 with two cohort studies included), cross-sectional studies (3/26), a single-center observational and a population-based study.…”

Pharmacological evaluation of vitamin D in COVID-19 and long COVID-19: recent studies confirm clinical validation and highlight metformin to improve VDR sensitivity and efficacy

“…Vitamin D3 supplementation, was associated with significantly reduced infection, mortality, infection severity Petrelli et al 2023 Prospective cohort study observational study 191 patients No intervention No intervention Lower serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly associated with an increased number of,the severity of COVID, mechanical vent. However, patients with either sufficient or insufficient vitamin D levels did not develop mortality Rachman et al 2023 A case–control study Observational study 46 patients No intervention No This study showing an association between low serum vitamin D and ARTIs including COVID-19 Elmi et al 2023 Retrospective observational study, Poland, 134 healthy subjects, assessing the Incidence of infection after one year No intervention No Increased risk of COVID-19 infection was only observed in those with severe 25OHD deficiency < 12 ng/mL Basińska-Lewandowska et al 2023 Retrospective study observational study Fifty Long-COVID and 50 non-Long-COVID subjects No intervention – COVID-19 survivors with Long-COVID have lower 25(OH)vitamin D levels as compared to matched-patients without Long-COVID di Filippo et al 2023a Prospective study Observational study A total of 73 COVID-19 patients and 30 control subjects were enrolled in this study No intervention 25(OH)vitamin D levels at hospital-admission strongly predicted the occurrence of worsening outcomes in COVID-19 di Filippo et al 2023b Retrospective study observational study MS-COVID, n = 149 MS-NCOVID, n = 292 No intervention Study reinforces the importance of supplementation of vitamin D levels in PwMS Montini et al ...…”