PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

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.

  • Zhila Maghbooli,
  • Mohammad Ali Sahraian,
  • Mehdi Ebrahimi,
  • Marzieh Pazoki,
  • Samira Kafan,
  • Hedieh Moradi Tabriz,
  • Azar Hadadi,
  • Mahnaz Montazeri,
  • Mehrad Nasiri,
  • Arash Shirvani,
  • Michael F Holick

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239799
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 9
p. e0239799

Abstract

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BackgroundTo investigate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and its effect on adverse clinical outcomes, and parameters of immune function and mortality due to a SARS-CoV-2 infection.Study designThe hospital data of 235 patients infected with COVID-19 were analyzed.ResultsBased on CDC criteria, among our study patients, 74% had severe COVID-19 infection and 32.8% were vitamin D sufficient. After adjusting for confounding factors, there was a significant association between vitamin D sufficiency and reduction in clinical severity, inpatient mortality serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and an increase in lymphocyte percentage. Only 9.7% of patients older than 40 years who were vitamin D sufficient succumbed to the infection compared to 20% who had a circulating level of 25(OH)DConclusionTherefore, it is recommended that improving vitamin D status in the general population and in particular hospitalized patients has a potential benefit in reducing the severity of morbidities and mortality associated with acquiring COVID-19.