Role of Vitamin D Supplementation in the Prevention of Infection and Severe Course in Covid-19: Testing the Hypothesis

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the normal activities of various settings, including clinics, laboratories, and libraries. As the world deals with the fast-mutating causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), apart from the search for the best vaccine candidate, efforts towards repurposing existing molecules to save lives must continue. Considerable interest has centered around the implications of vitamin D deficiency and its supplementation on the outcomes in patients with COVID-19. We hypothesize that vitamin D supplementation has the potential to confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and a severe COVID-19 course. Various animal, human observational as well as interventional studies have shown a protective role of vitamin D in COVID-19. More robustly designed studies where vitamin D is supplemented prophylactically and administered to those already infected are needed to determine the precise contribution of this supplementation in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and modifying the course of COVID-19.

Vitamin D and Aging: An Interplay of Multiple Mechanisms

“…Studies have found lower levels of vitamin D to be linked to a higher risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and increased risk of hospitalization [26,27,28]. Interventional studies have also found vitamin D supplementation to be associated with faster recovery and reduced risk of worsening in those with COVID-19 [29,30].…”