Talks about the relationship of Vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 mortality have been spreading lately. In relation to this, scientists studied the global data and found that there is indeed a strong correlation between the two.
Two studies have been found which suggested that there could be a possibility the Vitamin D can help protect someone from COVID-19 and increases the possibility of survival.
Patients with vitamin D deficiency have higher mortality rate
According to the first study which was published in the Aging Clinical and Experimental Research journal, British researchers were able to find that that infections and deaths due to COVID-19 were significantly higher in countries such as Italy and Spain, whose citizens had low vitamin D levels. On the other hand, Northern European countries who had higher average vitamin D levels had lower mortality rate.
The difference in the levels of Vitamin D between southern and northern European countries was explained by the researcher saying that people from the south have relatively darker pigmentation which reduces the synthesis of Vitamin D while those who live in the north have lighter pigmentation. Aside from these, northern Europeans usually consume more cod liver oil and vitamin D supplements which is why they have higher levels.
Meanwhile, the second study which was uploaded in the online journal medRxiv, has not undergone peer review yet but ut was based on data from 10 countries including the United States which was analyzed by researchers from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
The research is led by Ali Daneshkhah, a post-doctoral researcher. Despite the fact that it was not peer-reviewed, it had the same conclusion as the previous study which is, low levels of vitamin D were linked to a hyperactive immune system, thus making people more vulnerable to COVID-19 as to those with a high level of the vitamin.
The "sunshine vitamin"
Vitamin D, which has been dubbed as the "sunshine vitamin," strengthens the body's immune system, thus preventing overactive immune response.
According to the researchers from Northwestern, the findings in their study could explain unanswered questions regarding COVID-19, including the reason why children are less likely to succumb to the disease.
However, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, Dr. Mark Bolland said that neither of the two studies proves cause and effect between COVID-19 and vitamin D levels. Dr. Bolland has investigated vitamin D and its effects on bone health previously.
According to Dr. Bolland, there have been previous cases where a condition has been associated with low levels of vitamin D but increasing the levels of the vitamin in the body did not improve the said condition. He further added that both papers were very speculative and were based on the same fallacy.
On the other hand, Louisiana State University's associate professor on clinical surgery, Dr. Frank Lau said that his research has clearly shown that vitamin D can indeed make a difference in the condition of COVID-19 patients.
Furthermore, he said that patients whose vitamin D levels are low have a weaker immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. He added that Vitamin D bolsters the said response and helps the body develop antibodies to fight off infection and prevent it from spreading throughout the body.
As of the moment, clinical trials checking if Vitamin D can indeed improve the condition of COVID-19 patients have started.
