News: Low Vitamin D Levels Tied to Odds for Severe COVID

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200925/low-vitamin-d-levels-tied-to-higher-odds-for-severe-covid

"Several studies have brought to light that patients with vitamin D deficiency have a worse outcome in COVID-19," said pulmonologist and internist Dr. Len Horovitz, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "This is not surprising since vitamin D seems to have a beneficial effect on the immune system and wound healing."

In the new study, Holick and his colleagues assessed vitamin D levels in blood samples from 235 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The blood samples were also checked for an inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein and for the number of lymphocytes, a type of immune cell that helps fight infection.

The study couldn't prove cause and effect. But patients who were vitamin D-sufficient -- a blood level of at least 30 nanograms per milliliter -- had a significantly lower risk for serious complications from COVID-19, including losing consciousness, low blood oxygen levels and death.

Among patients older than 40, those who were vitamin D-sufficient were also 51.5% less likely to die from COVID-19 compared to those who were vitamin D-deficient or insufficient, the team said.

 

research paper

Vitamin D sufficiency, a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D at least 30 ng/mL reduced risk for adverse clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239799