Vitamin D supplementation and Covid‐19 outcomes: A systematic review, meta‐analysis and meta‐regression

Abstract

Summary Vitamin D has many protective properties and potential role against acute lung injury. Low serum vitamin D is associated with high risk of pneumonia and development of acute respiratory distress syndrome. This study sought to analyse the efficacy of vitamin D in improving the outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid‐19) patients. Using specific keywords, we comprehensively searched the potential articles on PubMed, Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov database until 8th May 2021. All published studies on Covid‐19 and vitamin D were retrieved. Statistical analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 software. A total of 11 studies with 22,265 Covid‐19 patients were included in the meta‐analysis. Our data suggested that vitamin D supplementation was associated with reduction in intensive care unit admission rate (OR 0.27; 95% CI: 0.09–0.76, p = 0.010, I 2 = 70%, random‐effect modelling); reduction of the need for mechanical ventilation (OR 0.34; 95% CI: 0.16–0.72, p = 0.005, I 2 = 61%, random‐effect modelling) and reduction of mortality from Covid‐19 (OR 0.37; 95% CI: 0.21–0.66, p < 0.001, I 2 = 50%, random‐effect modelling). Further analysis showed that the associations were influenced by age ( p = 0.020). Our study suggests that vitamin D supplementation may offer beneficial effects on Covid‐19 outcomes. However, more randomized clinical trials are required to confirm this conclusion.

The Interaction of Vitamin D and Corticosteroids: A Mortality Analysis of 26,508 Veterans Who Tested Positive for SARS-CoV-2

“…Vitamin D (Vit D) is an oxysterol hormone with important immunomodulatory and antiviral properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Even though this vitamin is often recommended as a nutritional supplement in treatment guidelines and prescribed for the management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], several studies have yielded divergent or inconclusive results [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ].…”

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and COVID-19: A Literature Review

“… 111 In a recent meta-analysis of 11 studies, vitamin D administration was associated with enhanced benefits, including relatively low ICU admission, less use of mechanical ventilation, and decreased COVID-19 mortality rate. 112 Many RCTs, including phase III trials (NCT04536298&NCT04385940) and a phase IV trial (NCT04552951), are recruiting patients to determine if vitamin D lowers the severity of illness in the participants with COVID-19.…”

Recent Advancements on COVID-19: A Comprehensive Review

“…239 Vitamin D is recommended for COVID-19 patients because the level of this vitamin is markedly low in severe COVID-19 patients, while vitamin D-deficient patients show high inflammatory responses. 240 Vitamin D as an anti-inflammatory supplement offers beneficial effects 241 that suppresses viral replication, reduces the development of pneumonia, 242 and reduces mortality in COVID-19. 243 …”