Mechanism of vitamin D in the immune response
This association is biologically plausible because vitamin D modulates both innate and adaptive immunity, and individuals with low levels of vitamin D are known to be susceptible to more infections from bacteria or viruses.
Of the 97 million confirmed cases worldwide, more than 2 million people have died.
The unusual nature of this virus is that it causes serious or even critical illness in a significant minority of patients, while the vast majority escapes without symptoms, mild or moderate.
Severe COVID-19 Risk Factors
Vitamin D deficiency has recently been postulated as a factor associated with an increased risk of poor prognosis in COVID-19.
Very early in the pandemic, numerous reports linked countries with lower average vitamin D levels and higher death rates.
Patients hospitalized for this disease have been shown to have very low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which directly proves this link.
Researchers measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in patients at a designated COVID-19 hospital in Yerevan, Armenia.
The study lasted five weeks and included blood samples measured for 25-hydroxyvitamin D taken from 330 successive patients admitted with COVID-19.
Vitamin D Levels in COVID-19 Hospital Patients
Decreased Vitamin D Levels in COVID-19 Hospital Patients!
The researchers found that the most common comorbidities in this patient population were hypertension, diabetes, smoking-related complications, and lung disease.
When other confounding factors were corrected, age and length of hospitalization were found to be significant risk factors for death from COVID-19, along with other important variables.
25-hydroxyvitamin D level was not significantly related to BMI, length of stay, need for supplemental oxygen, or death.
Average vitamin D levels in patients who succumbed to the disease were not much lower than in survivors, although there was a slight reduction.
Almost half of the hospitalized patients had levels below 12 ng / mL, indicating a clear deficiency.
A comparison of results, BMI and age showed no difference between patients with low levels of vitamin D, whether they were below or above 12 ng / mL.
Low vitamin D levels in hospitalized patients indicate that this deficiency could seriously affect the host's immune response, in terms of adaptive immunity.
It is important to conduct prospective studies to determine whether an intervention with vitamin D can be protective against COVID-19 as well as if an intervention with vitamin D can reduce its severity, ”the researchers conclude.
In summary
Of the 97 million confirmed cases worldwide, more than 2 million people have died.
Researchers have found that men are at greater risk of experiencing side effects, as are those with diabetes mellitus, obesity and high blood pressure.
Vitamin D deficiency was recently postulated as a factor associated with an increased risk of poor prognosis in COVID-19.
References
Does vitamin D supplementation prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection