Role of vitamin D in preventing of COVID-19 infection, progression and severity

16, June 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a global public health crisis. Little is known about the protective factors of this infection. Therefore, preventive health measures that can reduce the risk of infection, pro- gression and severity are desperately needed. This review discussed the possible roles of vitamin D in reducing the risk of COVID-19 and other acute respiratory tract infections and severity. Moreover, this study determined the correlation of vitamin D levels with COVID-19 cases and deaths in 20 European countries as of 20 May 2020. A significant negative correlation (p = 0.033) has been observed between mean vitamin D levels and COVID-19 cases per one million population in European countries. However, the correlation of vitamin D with COVID-19 deaths ofthese countries was not significant. Some retrospec- tive studies demonstrated a correlation between vitamin D status and COVID-19 severity and mortality, while other studies did not find the correlation when confounding variables are adjusted. Several stud- ies demonstrated the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of acute viral respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. These include direct inhibition with viral replication or with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory ways. In the meta-analysis, vitamin D supplementation has been shown as safe and effective against acute respiratory tract infections. Thus, people who are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency during this global pandemic should consider taking vitamin D supplements to maintain the circulating 25(OH)D in the optimal levels (75–125 nmol/L). In conclusion, there is not enough evidence on the association between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 severity and mortality. Therefore, randomized control trials and cohort studies are necessary to test this hypothesis.