Vitamin D-efense?
Study: Vitamin D reduces seniors’ risk of dying from coronavirus
Sufficient vitamin D levels in seniors and adults with a normal body weight appear to reduce the risk of severe illness and even death from the coronavirus, a Boston University Medical School study suggests.
“We concluded that being vitamin D sufficient above everything else was important in reducing many of the serious outcomes from the infection and reducing risk of death,” said Dr. Michael Holick, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine.
His recent study, published in Science Direct, took a retrospective look at Boston University Medical Center coronavirus patients — people who had severe enough cases of COVID-19 that they were already in the hospital.
Patients 65 and older with vitamin D sufficiency had lower rates of coronavirus death — about 12% compared to 32% for those who were vitamin D deficient.
Rates of intensive care unit admission, intubation, acute respiratory distress syndrome and septic shock were also lower.
Among patients who had a normal body weight, vitamin D sufficiency was also linked with decreased odds of death, according to the study.
No significant association between vitamin D sufficiency and hospital outcomes was found among patients younger than 65 and among obese patients.
All of the estimates were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, insurance status, race, smoking, alcohol drinking and several medical conditions.
Holick said most people don’t get enough of the sunshine vitamin as only small amounts are found in food and New England weather doesn’t allow for enough sunlight during most months.
“We know that vitamin D plays a very critical role in our immune system and what it’s do
ing is it’s modulating our immune system,” Holick said.
The average adult needs around 1,500 to 2,000 units of vitamin D a day, Holick said. He said he’s been taking 6,000 units a day for decades.
Many other studies have been published on vitamin D and the coronavirus, including another one of Holick’s that showed that people with deficient levels of the vitamin had 54% higher COVID-19 positivity compared to those with adequate levels, as previously reported in the Herald.
nother study of more than 11,000 participants published in the British Medical Journal found vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of acute respiratory tract infection among all participants.
An ongoing Brigham and Women’s Hospital study that launched earlier this year is looking at whether taking vitamin D supplements can lessen the severity of coronavirus symptoms and reduce the chance of becoming infected with the illness.
Holick said the benefits of the nutrient are not taken seriously enough and he is soon hoping to investigate its impacts on long COVID and vaccination.
Holick is a consultant for Biogena Inc. and several other companies, some of which sell supplements including vitamin D.