Is the vitamin D status of patients with COVID-19 associated with reduced mortality? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Bignardi, P; Castello, Paula de Andrade; Aquino, Bruno de Matos; Delfino, Vinícius Daher Alvares

doi:10.20945/2359-3997000000588

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(90 reference statements)

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“…Vitamin D status was associated with clinical characteristics in patients with COVID-19. A recent review published by Bignardi et al [42] reported a meta-analysis of 21 studies: they suggest vitamin D deficiency associated with mortality in the overall analysis, but not when it is adjusted for the vitamin D cut-off levels <10/12 ng/mL. Thus, reduced vitamin D exposure was not related to increased mortality when adjustments for confounders are considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19: Focusing on the Link between Inflammation, Vitamin D, MAPK Pathway and Oxidative Stress Genetics

et al. 2023

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An uncontrolled inflammatory response during SARS-CoV-2 infection has been highlighted in several studies. This seems to be due to pro-inflammatory cytokines whose production could be regulated by vitamin D, ROS production or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Several genetic studies are present in the literature concerning genetic influences on COVID-19 characteristics, but there are few data on oxidative stress, vitamin D, MAPK and inflammation-related factors, considering gender and age. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of single nucleotide polymorphisms in these pathways, clarifying their impact in affecting COVID-19-related clinical features. Genetic polymorphisms were evaluated through real-time PCR. We prospectively enrolled 160 individuals: 139 patients were positive for SARS-CoV-2 detection. We detected different genetic variants able to affect the symptoms and oxygenation. Furthermore, two sub-analyses were performed considering gender and age, showing a different impact of polymorphisms according to these characteristics. This is the first study highlighting a possible contribution of genetic variants of these pathways in affecting COVID-19 clinical features. This may be relevant in order to clarify the COVID-19 etiopathogenesis and to understand the possible genetic contribution for further SARS infections.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19: Focusing on the Link between Inflammation, Vitamin D, MAPK Pathway and Oxidative Stress Genetics

et al. 2023

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“…One of “hyped” drugs was vitamin D, and doctor prescriptions in Germany increased sharply ( Arzneiverordnungsreport (AVR, Drug prescription Report ) from 2022 (Ludwig et al 2023 )). However, there is no proven beneficial effect of vitamin D in COVID patients (Bignardi et al 2023 ). This example illustrates that, because of advertising, the population is willing to take preparations whose efficacy has not yet been proven, without thinking about potentially negative effects (Taylor and Davies 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug advertising in the German free-of-charge health magazine Apotheken Umschau (Pharmacy review): a critical analysis

Keuper,

Seifert

2023

Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol

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In Germany, the Apotheken Umschau (Pharmacy review) is a very popular health magazine for lay people, which is available free of charge in pharmacies. In this study, drug advertising in the Apotheken Umschau was critically analyzed. To our knowledge, studies on drug advertisements in such magazines are scarce. For the analyses, a total of 123 different advertisements from all 48 issues of Apotheken Umschau in 2020 and 2021 were compared. Since 2021 is the first year that was completely characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was thus also possible to work out pandemic effects. More preparations from the categories immune system, eyes and sleep were advertised in 2021. Accordingly, typical complaints home office workers were addressed. Advertisements provided only very modest scientific information, if at all. The Therapeutic Products Advertising Act (Medicines Advertising Law; Heilmittelwerbegesetz (HWG)) provides regulations regarding the handling of drug advertising. However, in various categories, we noted substantial deficiencies of the advertisements to comply to regulations, e.g. the disclosure of adverse effects and omission of the mandatory statement “For risks and adverse effects, read the package insert and ask your doctor or pharmacist (Für Risiken und Nebenwirkungen fragen Sie Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker oder lesen Sie die Packungsbeilage)”. Fifty-one of the 123 advertisements featured females to appeal particularly to this target group. Furthermore, a homogeneous ethnic (Caucasian) picture and a traditional image of German society were presented although this clearly deviates from reality. In conclusion, this study provides insights into the yet poorly studied mechanisms of drug advertisement for lay people. Pharmacological evidence plays a much smaller role than psychology, marketing and traditional societal models. It appears that drug companies intentionally use the “grey area” of the Medicines Advertising Law to optimally promote their products and ignore mandatory statements. This practice must be stopped by stricter legal control to protect the consumer from misinformation. In this way, drug safety will be increased.

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“…Deficient vitamin D levels were not associated with increased mortality rate in patients with COVID-19 when the analysis included studies with adjustments for confounders. Thus, further randomized clinical trials are required to verify this association [199]. To date, the exact dose of vitamin D for COVID-19 patients to gain any immunomodulatory benefit remains unclear, although the recommended 10 µg daily seems justifiable to maintain serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D above 25 nmol/L [200].…”

Section: Vitamin Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

Severe COVID-19: Drugs and Clinical Trials

Ceja-Gálvez

Renteria-Flores

Nicoletti

et al. 2023

JCM

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By January of 2023, the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a reported total of 6,700,883 deaths and 662,631,114 cases worldwide. To date, there have been no effective therapies or standardized treatment schemes for this disease; therefore, the search for effective prophylactic and therapeutic strategies is a primary goal that must be addressed. This review aims to provide an analysis of the most efficient and promising therapies and drugs for the prevention and treatment of severe COVID-19, comparing their degree of success, scope, and limitations, with the aim of providing support to health professionals in choosing the best pharmacological approach. An investigation of the most promising and effective treatments against COVID-19 that are currently available was carried out by employing search terms including “Convalescent plasma therapy in COVID-19” or “Viral polymerase inhibitors” and “COVID-19” in the Clinicaltrials.gov and PubMed databases. From the current perspective and with the information available from the various clinical trials assessing the efficacy of different therapeutic options, we conclude that it is necessary to standardize certain variables—such as the viral clearance time, biomarkers associated with severity, hospital stay, requirement of invasive mechanical ventilation, and mortality rate—in order to facilitate verification of the efficacy of such treatments and to better assess the repeatability of the most effective and promising results.

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Is the vitamin D status of patients with COVID-19 associated with reduced mortality? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 5 publications

References 79 publications

COVID-19: Focusing on the Link between Inflammation, Vitamin D, MAPK Pathway and Oxidative Stress Genetics

COVID-19: Focusing on the Link between Inflammation, Vitamin D, MAPK Pathway and Oxidative Stress Genetics

Drug advertising in the German free-of-charge health magazine Apotheken Umschau (Pharmacy review): a critical analysis

Severe COVID-19: Drugs and Clinical Trials

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