In our article “Vitamin D – Essential helper, also against Corona” we have already provided you with some important information on why a good vitamin D level could improve the immune response to the virus. We have not yet dealt with what research has found out about this topic in the meantime. We would like to catch up on this at this point and provide you with valuable links on the topic.
Vitamin D / No. 1 (May 2020)
In an interview with the platform Medscape, Prof. JoAnn E. Manson, who teaches at Harvard Medical School, answered the question of the role that vitamin D deficiency can play in relation to Covid-19, both in the defence against infection and the severity of the disease.
Manson: “Vitamin D is important to innate immunity and boosts immune function against viral diseases. We also know that vitamin D has an immune-modulating effect and can lower inflammation, and this may be relevant to the respiratory response during COVID-19 and the cytokine storm that’s been demonstrated. There are laboratory (cell-culture) studies of respiratory cells that document some of these effects of vitamin D. There’s also evidence that patients with respiratory infections tend to have lower blood levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D.”
Vitamin D / No. 2 (June 2020)
Is vitamin D the “low hanging fruit” in combination with Covid-19? This is the question Prof. Rose Kenny and colleagues from Trinity College London and the Institute for Translational Medicine in Liverpool asked in a publication in the Irish Medical Journal. They conducted a literature search to find evidence of the effect of Vit D on Covid-19 infections. They found a link between countries where there is an underuse of Vit D and countries where it is less. “Counter-intuitively, the lower latitude and typically ‘sunny’ countries such as Spain and Italy (particularly Northern Italy), had low mean concentrations of 25(OH)D and high rates of vitamin D deficiency”. However, these data are consistent with the higher death rates in these countries. Kenny and co-authors urge further studies on this link.
Vitamin D / No. 3 (April 2020)
Another American group investigated the connection between vitamin D levels and the outbreak of the so-called cytokine storm, which is known to be partly responsible for the fatal course of the disease. Quote: “Conclusion Given that CRP is a surrogate marker for cytokine storm and is associated with Vit D deficiency, based on retrospective data and indirect evidence we see a possible role of Vit D in reducing complications attributed to unregulated inflammation and cytokine storm”.
Vitamin D / No. 4 (July 2020)
A statement from 6 societies (American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), Endocrine Society, European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS), National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), and International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF)) was published in July 2020. “The current data do not provide any evidence that vitamin D supplementation will help prevent or treat COVID-19 infection; however, our guidance does not preclude further study of the potential effects of vitamin D on COVID-19. Research to date suggests that vitamin D may play a role in enhancing the immune response, and given prior work demonstrating a role for the activated form of vitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] in immune responses, further research into vitamin D supplementation in COVID-19 disease is warranted.”
Vitamin D / No. 5 (July 2020)
An Israeli study titled (translated): A low 25(OH)-vitamin D level in plasma is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection: a study based on the Israeli population examined many demographic parameters in great detail, including the Vit D situation of the Israeli population. Here is the conclusion: “Therefore, our study found that suboptimal plasma vitamin D levels may bea potential risk factor for COVID-19 infection, particu-larly, for the high hospitalization risks, independent ofdemographic characteristics and medical conditions. The finding is important, since it could guide healthcaresystems in identifying populations at risk, and con-tribute to interventions aimed to reduce the risk of theCOVID-19 infection.”
Vitamin D / No. 6 (September 2020)
Study published in the Jama Network.
“Findings: In this cohort study of 489 patients who had a vitamin D level measured in the year before COVID-19 testing, the relative risk of testing positive for COVID-19 was 1.77 times greater for patients with likely deficient vitamin D status compared with patients with likely sufficient vitamin D status, a difference that was statistically significant.
Meaning: These findings appear to support a role of vitamin D status in COVID-19 risk; randomized clinical trials are needed to determine whether broad population interventions and interventions among groups at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 could reduce COVID-19 incidence.”
Concluding words
These are only a few studies published on the matter. We will keep updating you with all relevant findings regarding vitamin D and Covid-19.