Could vitamin D reduce the risk of Covid 19 disease?
One of the rumors that got around at the beginning of the corona pandemic was that you should just enjoy the sun so as not to get infected. But is there anything to the assumption that vitamin D could have an influence on the course of Covid 19 disease? Scientists from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Boston University Medical Center have been investigating this over the past few months.
The basics
How exactly vitamin D affects our body, you can here read up. Vitamin D can improve the function of immune cells such as T cells and macrophages and protect our body from pathogens. A low vitamin D level increases the risk of respiratory diseases. It weakens our bones and muscles. It is also associated with mental illness.
To date, there has not been much research into the effects of vitamin D on host responses. With regard to SARS-CoV-2 in particular, we have to wait until the relevant investigations are available. “A study examining four substance libraries for antiviral activity reported an inhibitory effect of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (the steroid hormone and biologically active vitamin D metabolite) in human nasal epithelial cells that are infected with SARS- CoV-2.2 are infected ”, describe Adrian Martineau and Nita Forouhi in“ The Lancet ”.
That was investigated
235 patients suffering from Covid-19 were examined as part of the study. The scientists analyzed how the disease progressed in patients with a sufficient vitamin D level compared to patients with a vitamin D deficiency.
The results
It indicated that there is a connection between a sufficiently high vitamin D level in the patient and the course of their illness. The probability of experiencing a severe course was about 50 percent lower in patients over 40 years of age with a vitamin D level above 25 (OH) D <30 ng / ml than in patients with vitamin D deficiency.
What does this mean for Covid-19 diseases?
Not much at first. The results suggest that there may be a connection between vitamin D levels and the course of the disease. The vitamin's influence on our immune system reinforces this assumption. But the criticism of this study is also not insignificant. It is primarily directed against the small number of participants and the hasty conclusions that were partly drawn from the results.
Follow-up studies and investigations must now show whether the results are confirmed and what conclusions can be drawn from them. We are excited.
But, and Adrian Martineau and Nita Forouhi also highlight this in their analysis “Can Vitamin D Lower Your Risk of COVID-19” for “The Lancet”: Actively counteracting vitamin D deficiency is beneficial on many levels, but does not harm. Even without a positive influence on Covid-19 diseases.
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