Letter: low population mortality from COVID‐19 in countries south of latitude 35° North supports vitamin D as a factor determining severity. Authors’ reply

Rhodes, Jonathan M.; Subramanian, Sreedhar; Laird, Éamon; Kenny, Rose Anne

doi:10.1111/apt.15823

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…COVID-19 confirmed cases and mortality rate in some European countries were reported to be negatively correlated with the mean vitamin D level ( Hastie et al, 2020 ; Ilie et al, 2020 ). The same association was also been observed in countries 35 degrees south of latitude ( Mansur, 2020 ; Rhodes et al, 2020 ). Further, lower vitamin D levels were linked to higher mortality, and vitamin D supplementation could reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients ( Grant et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Sunlight ultraviolet radiation dose is negatively correlated with the percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 and four other common human coronaviruses in the U.S.

Tang

Liu

Ren

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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Human coronaviruses are RNA viruses that are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Sunlight contains UVA (320–400 nm), UVB (260–320 nm) and UVC (200–260 nm) action spectra. UVC can inactivate coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The incidence and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are considered to be correlated with vitamin D levels. Vitamin D synthesis in human skin is closely related to exposure to UVB radiation. Therefore, the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 are also considered to be correlated with Vitamin D levels. In this study, Spearman and Kendall rank correlation analysis tests were used to analyze the correlation between the average percent positive of five human coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2, CoVHKU1, CoVNL63, CoVOC43, and CoV229E) in the U.S. and the corresponding sunlight UV radiation dose The results indicated that the monthly average percent positive of four common coronaviruses was significantly negatively correlated with the sunlight UV radiation dose. The weekly percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 during April 17, 2020 to July 10, 2020 showed a significant negative correlation with the sunlight UV radiation dose in census regions 1 and 2 of the U.S. while no statistical significance in the other regions. Additionally, sunlight UV radiation also showed some negative effects with respect to the early SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Sunlight ultraviolet radiation dose is negatively correlated with the percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 and four other common human coronaviruses in the U.S.

Tang

Liu

Ren

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Therefore, initially, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for "COVID-19" AND "Vitamin D" (date range, 2020, omitting citations and patents, no language limitations). Repeated searches confirmed the growing interest in the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency may play an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic (3,10,12,19,25,110,(112)(113)(114)(115)(116)(117)(118)(119)(120)(121)(122)(123)(124)(125)(126)(127) From May 2 to May 19, Google Scholar hits increased from 49 to 88 and PubMed hits increased from 17 publications to 32. By June 16, the Google Scholar search retrieved 158 possible references and the PubMed publications on the topic had increased to 69.…”

Section: Methods: Literature Searchmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Vitamin D also helps prevent viral infections from progressing to pneumonia by tightening cell junctions (19,28,165,172) And, vitamin D's influence on the coagulation pathway decreases risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome as it decreases thrombosis risks (114,127,157,162,169,173). Therefore, correcting vitamin D deficiency might help prevent COVID-19 illness AND help limit complications when prevention is unsuccessful (25,28,114,169).…”

Section: How Vitamin D May Decrease Serious Covid-19-associated Complmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional authors recommend vitamin D supplements to boost the immune systems of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (2 p , 35, 69, 71, 74, 75, 118, 120, 125, 230-233). However, most authors recommend widespread daily vitamin D supplementation (most often with 1,000-5,000 IU per day) to prevent and decrease the severity of COVID-19, at least until the pandemic abates (1,5,12,28,34,36,42,64,65,107,109,113,114,116,121,124,127,165,171,172,178,190,192,197,198,210,214,219,222,(234)(235)(236)(237)(238)(239)(240)(241)(242)(243)(244)(245)(246)(247)(248) (Figure 8).…”

Section: Covid-19-specific Recommendations Of Expertsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Basic Review of the Preliminary Evidence That COVID-19 Risk and Severity Is Increased in Vitamin D Deficiency

Benskin

2020

Front. Public Health

133

137

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As the world's attention has been riveted upon the growing COVID-19 pandemic, many researchers have written brief reports supporting the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency is related to the incidence and severity of COVID-19. The clear common thread among the top risk groups-vitamin D deficiency-may be being overlooked because of previous overstated claims of vitamin D benefits. However, the need to decrease COVID-19 fatalities among high-risk populations is urgent. Early researchers reported three striking patterns. Firstly, the innate immune system is impaired by vitamin D deficiency, which would predispose sufferers to viral infections such as COVID-19. Vitamin D deficiency also increases the activity of the X-chromosome-linked "Renin-Angiotensin" System, making vitamin D deficient individuals (especially men) more susceptible to COVID-19's deadly "cytokine storm" (dramatic immune system overreaction). Secondly, the groups who are at highest risk for severe COVID-19 match those who are at highest risk for severe vitamin D deficiency. This includes the elderly, men, ethnic groups whose skin is naturally rich in melanin (if living outside the tropics), those who avoid sun exposure for cultural and health reasons, those who live in institutions, the obese, and/or those who suffer with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes. And thirdly, the pattern of geographical spread of COVID-19 reflects higher population vitamin D deficiency. Both within the USA and throughout the world, COVID-19 fatality rates parallel vitamin D deficiency rates. A literature search was performed on PubMed, Google Scholar, and RSMLDS, with targeted Google searches providing additional sources. Although randomized controlled trial results may be available eventually, the correlational and causal study evidence supporting a link between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 risks is already so strong that it supports action. The 141 author groups writing primarily about biological plausibility detailed how vitamin D deficiency can explain every risk factor and every complication of COVID-19, but agreed that other factors are undoubtedly at work. COVID-19 was compared with dengue fever, for which oral vitamin D supplements of 4,000 IU for 10 days were significantly more effective than 1,000 IU in reducing virus replication and controlling the "cytokine storm" (dramatic immune system over-reaction) responsible for fatalities. Among the 47 original research studies summarized here, chart reviews found that serum vitamin D levels predicted COVID-19 mortality Benskin Evidence Linking Vitamin D, COVID-19 rates (16 studies) and linearly predicted COVID-19 illness severity (8 studies). Two causal modeling studies and several analyses of variance strongly supported the hypothesis that vitamin D deficiency is a causal, rather than a bystander, factor in COVID-19 outcomes. Three of the four studies whose findings opposed the hypothesis relied upon disproven assumptions. The literature review also found that prophylactically correcting possible ...

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“…Similarly, many observational studies have reported on risk factors for COVID-19. A recent genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) has implicated that blood group A patients had a higher risk of severe COVID-19 than other blood types [ 3 ], while other studies have found associations between vitamin D levels/latitude, and Bacille de Calmette et Guérin (BCG) vaccine and mortality to COVID-19 [ 4 ]. Based on the results of these studies, shall we tell our blood group A patients to stay home or tell everyone to take vitamin D or get vaccinated with BCG?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Football and COVID-19 risk: correlation is not causation

Ayoub

Sato

Sakuraba

2021

Clinical Microbiology and Infection

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Letter: low population mortality from COVID‐19 in countries south of latitude 35° North supports vitamin D as a factor determining severity. Authors’ reply

Abstract: LINKED CONTENTThis article is linked to Rhodes et al and Mansur papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15777 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15820.

Cited by 15 publications

References 10 publications

Sunlight ultraviolet radiation dose is negatively correlated with the percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 and four other common human coronaviruses in the U.S.

Sunlight ultraviolet radiation dose is negatively correlated with the percent positive of SARS-CoV-2 and four other common human coronaviruses in the U.S.

A Basic Review of the Preliminary Evidence That COVID-19 Risk and Severity Is Increased in Vitamin D Deficiency

Football and COVID-19 risk: correlation is not causation

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