picture alliance/Daniel Vogl
Low vitamin D levels before contracting COVID-19 are associated with more severe disease progression, according to a new study.
Vitamin D helps to strengthen the immune system. Thus, viruses that attack the lungs are more effectively combated, researchers said.
Vitamin D is “part of the complex puzzle” underlying severe COVID-19 episodes, the scientists warned.
Israeli scientists have compared patients who had a sufficient level of vitamin D before contracting the disease with those who did not. The researchers had found “striking” differences in the probability of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.
A study published last Thursday in the journal PLOS One found that about half of the people who had low vitamin D levels before the infection became seriously ill.
In contrast, among the people who had a higher vitamin D content in the blood, it was less than ten percent. It is well known that vitamin D is crucial for bone health, but its role in protecting against severe COVID-19 has so far been less well established.
The first study of its kind
The latest research, which has dealt with the relationship between vitamin D levels and severe corona processes, was the first of its kind, according to the scientists. However, the results do not prove that vitamin D protects against COVID-19. In addition, they are not a green light for not getting vaccinated and taking vitamins instead. The approved vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization at Omikron, especially after a booster vaccination, by up to 90 percent. This is the British Health Authority.
Most vitamin D is produced by direct sunlight on the skin. But the vitamin is also found in foods such as fatty fish, mushrooms and egg yolks, as well as in certain dietary supplements. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, vitamin D levels of more than 20 nanograms per milliliter are considered sufficient for most people – this is also the guideline used by researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Galilee Medical Center.
Similar results for other respiratory infections
Research compiled before the corona pandemic and published in “The Lancet” found that vitamin D reduces the risk of other respiratory infections compared to dummy drugs. In COVID-19, on the other hand, the initial results looked contradictory: some studies have found a link between low vitamin D levels and severe COVID-19, while others have concluded that the vitamin does not provide protection.
Even from the studies – the results of which showed a positive correlation between low vitamin D levels and severe COVID-19 – it was not clear whether the lack of vitamin D occurred even before or only after the patients’ illness, the Israeli researchers said.
Further studies are justified by this
Despite the new data from Israel, we still do not know reliably whether low vitamin D levels actually cause people with COVID-19 to develop severe disease courses. Underlying diseases that reduce vitamin D levels as an effect could also make people more susceptible to a serious COVID-19 disease, for example.
The Israeli researchers warned that a low vitamin D level is “part of the complex puzzle” underlying a severe corona course, in addition to comorbidities, genetic predisposition, dietary habits and geographical factors. “Our research work justifies further studies investigating whether and from when vitamin D supplementation can influence the course of a possible COVID-19 disease in the affected persons,” they said.
This text has been translated from English by Elias Holdenried. You can find the original here.