A central question for many people since the beginning of the pandemic has been how to protect their immune system from infections and above all from infection with SARS-CoV-2. A dietary supplement that is mentioned particularly frequently is vitamin D. It is said to strengthen the immune system and prevent viral infections. Many advertisements and recommendations on the Internet name vitamin D as a supposed silver bullet.
To date, there is no statistically significant connection between the intake of vitamin C, vitamin D or zinc and lower Covid-19 mortality. However, a recent publication in the trade journal shows Clinical Nutrition ESPEN published a meta-study on how vitamin D could affect the course of Covid-19.
Shorter hospital stays
The study suggests that patients who took vitamin D supplements required less intubation and had a shorter average length of stay in hospital than those who only received standard Covid-19 treatment.
For the meta-study, a research team from the University of Toledo analyzed a total of 26 studies, including ten randomized controlled studies and 16 observational studies with a total of 5,633 patients with Covid-19.
The researchers compiled the individual studies and used statistical methods to pool their results. This process allowed the team to determine the overall effect of the supplements.
No effect on mortality
The nine studies investigating the use of vitamin C supplements, the five studies investigating the use of zinc supplements, and the 14 studies investigating vitamin D supplements found no statistically significant effects on the 19 mortality.
The studies included a total of 927 patients who received vitamin D preparations. Compared to 2,570 patients who only received standard treatments shows that that vitamin D intake was associated with a 45 percent lower intubation rate. This means fewer people have had to be ventilated with a tube inserted down their throat. Covid-19 patients with increased vitamin D levels also had to stay in the hospital for a shorter period of time. The hospital stay was in Average shortened by 1.26 days.
state of research
In the past, several studies had already dealt with a possible connection between vitamin D and Covid-19. A recent one in the journal PLOS ONE A published study found that among 1,176 patients hospitalized with Covid-19, patients with vitamin D deficiency were 14 times more likely to develop severe disease than those with normal vitamin D levels. values.
Meta-analyses are used to summarize different studies that can differ greatly in terms of quality and design. Further studies are needed to determine whether there is a concrete connection between vitamin D and protection against severe disease progression after a SARS-Cov-2 infection.
The Israeli researchers also warn that a low vitamin D level is only “part of the complex puzzle” that underlies the course of the corona virus. Their study “justifies further studies, in which it is examined whether and from when a vitamin D supplement can influence the course of a possible Covid 19 disease in the affected persons”.