The association between B vitamins and the risk of COVID-19

Abstract

The fast spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic and its high mortality were quickly noticed by the health community. B vitamins are essential micronutrients for the body with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-regulating properties. The present study can provide a comprehensive picture of the associations between B vitamins and COVID-19 incidence. This study was undertaken on 9189 adult participants of the Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Taghzieh Mardom-e-Yazd (TAMIZ) study aged 20 to 69 years. Data on dietary intakes were obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between B vitamins and COVID-19. Our findings indicated that participants in the fourth quartile of vitamin B5 intake compared to the first quartile had a protective effect against COVID-19 (OR: 0. 53 CI: 0.28– 0.99, p- trend =0.02) after adjustment for all possible confounds in model 3. In addition, participants in the third quartile of vitamin B12 intake compared to the first quartile (OR: 0.63, 95% CI 0.40-0.98, P-trend= 0.11) had fewer odds of COVID-19 after full adjustments for confounders. Our findings indicated no significant relationship between dietary intake of vitamin B1, B2, B3, B9, and B-complex and COVID-19. A higher intake of vitamin B5 could reduce the odds of COVID-19 by 47%, and a moderate intake of vitamin B12 had a protective effect on COVID-19. Although our study has promising results, stronger clinical studies are needed.

Vitamin B12 effectiveness in the management of hospitalized COVID‐19 and its clinical outcomes and complications: A randomized clinical trial

“…Another study shows that unlike vitamin B5, B6, B7 that need high intake to affect the outcomes of COVID‐19, only moderate intake of vitamin B12 can have a protective effect against COVID‐19. 27 In a study by Corcoran and colleagues, data of 129 patients were analyzed and as a result, Vitamin B12 level was positively correlated with CRP level and CRP was significantly higher in survivors. Same study showed Vitamin B12 level was significantly higher in nonsurvivor.…”

Relación de la deficiencia de micronutrientes y su suplementación con la gravedad de la COVID-19: una revisión narrativa

“…Hasta el momento se han realizado algunos estudios del papel del complejo B en la infección por SARS-CoV-2, como la administración de cobalamina (32,33) , el uso de riboflavina asociado a luz ultravioleta (UV) y la relación de los niveles séricos de estas vitaminas (32) . En pacientes críticamente enfermos se realizó un análisis de regresión multivariable en el que se determinó que la escasez de vitamina B puede debilitar la respuesta inmunitaria del huésped (22) .…”

Cholesterol and COVID-19—therapeutic opportunities at the host/virus interface during cell entry

“…Antiviral activities of pantethine include down-regulation of host proteins needed for viral entry such as TMPRSS2 and inflammatory genes ( Abou-Hamdan et al, 2023 ). Higher vitamin B5 intake correlated with a lower incidence of COVID-19 ( Darand et al, 2022 ) and molecular docking studies suggested pantethine as a possible inhibitor of the main viral protease M pro ( Verma et al, 2022 ).…”