Vitamin D Supplementation to Prevent COVID-19 Infections and Deaths—Accumulating Evidence from Epidemiological and Intervention Studies Calls for Immediate Action

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented threat to human health, health care systems, public life, and economy around the globe. The repertoire of effective therapies for severe courses of the disease has remained limited. A large proportion of the world population suffers from vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency, with prevalence being particularly high among the COVID-19 high-risk populations. Vitamin D supplementation has been suggested as a potential option to prevent COVID-19 infections, severe courses, and deaths from the disease, but is not widely practiced. This article provides an up-to-date summary of recent epidemiological and intervention studies on a possible role of vitamin D supplementation for preventing severe COVID-19 cases and deaths. Despite limitations and remaining uncertainties, accumulating evidence strongly supports widespread vitamin D supplementation, in particular of high-risk populations, as well as high-dose supplementation of those infected. Given the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefit–risk ratio of such supplementation calls for immediate action even before results of ongoing large-scale randomized trials become available.

Vitamin D: What's new a year on from the COVID‐19 outbreak?

“…Low vitamin D status is widespread in many countries and could be preventable by supplementation, especially in the winter months (Brenner, 2021; Griffin et al, 2020). In the UK, prior to SACN's advice in 2016, the government's advice was that only vulnerable groups ( e.g.…”

“…An evidence synthesis report by The Royal Society on recommendations for vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of COVID‐19 suggests that vitamin D supplementation could be recommended based on indirect evidence just as the recommendations for social distancing and the wearing of masks have been (Griffin et al, 2020). Furthermore, even a small effect on protection from infection that may lower the COVID‐19 effective Reproduction number ( R ) from just above one (as estimated for many countries shortly before or during lockdown measures of varying intensity during most of the second half of 2020) to just below one could make the difference between further exponential growth or regression of the pandemic (Brenner, 2021). A position statement from the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology on vitamin D supplementation for the prevention and treatment of COVID‐19 also recommends that its use should be standardised in clinical practice, despite the lack of evidence on specific doses of vitamin D to treat COVID‐19 in older adults.…”

Pleiotrope Wirkung von Vitamin D mit Berücksichtigung von COVID-19

“…In einer kontrollierten Pilotstudie konnte hoch dosiertes 25 Weitere kontrollierte Studien werden derzeit noch durchgeführt und lassen auf eine bessere Evidenzlage hoffen [92].…”

Beneficial Effects of Oral Administration of a Nutritional Supplement in Asymptomatic and Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients

“…Micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals, are the biological or biochemical compounds required in relatively small or trace amounts that participate in essential metabolic reactions and biochemical pathways. The deficiency of such compounds leads to disturbances of function in our body, which results in weakened host immune response [11]. These widely described properties, for nutritional supplements could be valuable in the immune defense of COVID-19 infected individuals.…”