Researchers find supplements may protect those with low vitamin D levels from severe COVID-19
Patients with low vitamin D levels who are hospitalised for COVID-19 may have a lower risk of dying or requiring mechanical ventilation if they receive vitamin D supplementation of at least 1,000 units weekly, according to a study presented virtually at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.
The findings were published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
“Given
how common vitamin D deficiency is in the world and the United States,
we believe that this research is highly relevant right now,” said
co-author Sweta Chekuri, M.D., of Montefiore Health System and Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.
Research has
shown that vitamin D supplementation can prevent inflammation in other
respiratory diseases, but there have been limited studies examining the
role of vitamin D supplementation in COVID-19.
The purpose of the
study was to determine whether being supplemented with vitamin D before
being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 resulted in less severe
COVID-19 disease in patients with a low vitamin D level.
The
researchers studied 124 adult patients with low vitamin D that was
measured up to 90 days before their admission for COVID-19. They
compared the patients who were supplemented with at least 1,000 units of
vitamin D weekly to those who had not received vitamin D supplements in
terms of whether they were mechanically ventilated or died during
admission.
They found that patients who were supplemented were less
likely to be mechanically ventilated or to die the following admission,
though the finding wasn’t statistically significant (37.5 percent of
patients who were not supplemented vs. 33.3 percent of those who were)
They also found that more than half of those who should have been
supplemented were not.
“Though we weren’t able to show a definitive
link to severe COVID-19, it is clear that patients with low vitamin D
should receive supplementation not only for bone health, but also for
stronger protection against severe COVID-19,” said co-author Corinne
Levitus, D.O., of Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College
of Medicine.
“We hope this research will encourage clinicians to
discuss adding this supplement with their patients who have low vitamin
D, as this may reduce the odds of people developing severe COVID-19.”