There have been many experts who have questioned the role of vitamin D in preventing the spread of COVID-19 ever since the pandemic first began, fuelled by early talk of alternative treatment methods back in 2020. There has been renewed interest in vitamin D supplements due to recent research that suggests that high levels of vitamin D may help protect against severe COVID-19 symptoms such as those associated with the Omicron variant.
PLOS ONE recently published a small-scale study based on data collected in Israel between April 2020 and February 2021, which researchers say is “equally relevant” for the spread of Omicron. In a time before vaccines were available, researchers studied the medical records of 253 people and found that those with vitamin D deficiency were more likely than those with adequate levels of vitamin D in their blood samples to develop a severe or critical case of COVID-19. The vitamin was deficient in about half of those who took part in the research.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), people with severe COVID-19 complications, such as respiratory failure, septic shock, or multiple organ dysfunction, are 14 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient. The NIH defines this as someone who is likely to require a respirator to breathe. According to the study, those with a vitamin D deficiency were significantly more likely to die as a result of an infection than those who did not have a vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D supplementation can boost your immune system, but other experts are quick to point out that this study does not prove that it is sufficient to protect you from a life-threatening infection. More research is needed to confirm whether vitamin D levels are an indicator of how severe symptoms will be for someone affected by COVID-19, says Paul Spearman, M.D., director of the infectious diseases division at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Vitamin D supplementation before COVID-19 infection would be necessary to prove the link between vitamin D deficiency and severe disease, he says. “We have to remember that an association doesn’t mean causation — meaning, that other things going on in [those people] with low vitamin D levels may cause severe disease, and not the low vitamin D itself,” he says. Patients must be enrolled in a large number of studies like this one, which is difficult and time-consuming.
As Dr. Spearman points out, this isn’t the first time that limited meta-analysis research has looked at the role of vitamin D in COVID-19 infections. Low vitamin D levels do not “aggravate” COVID-19 risk or death, according to some research, nor does it improve patient health as they recover in the hospital, according to others. According to a preprint of a study published in the Nutrition Journal in 2021, there is no link between vitamin D levels and severity in COVID-19, as well as between vitamin D supplements administered to hospitalized patients and recovery benefits.
There are theoretical reasons why someone’s immune system may be affected if they aren’t getting enough vitamin D, but Dr. Spearman adds that vitamin D is far from useless. While its role in preventing or stemming a COVID-19 infection is still uncertain,
Vitamin D is essential for bone health because it aids in the absorption of calcium, and it is also linked to a number of other vital bodily functions, including muscle function. Vitamin D levels can be influenced by diet, since foods like fatty salmon, beef liver, egg yolks, and Swiss cheese contain significant amounts of the vitamin, but it is also obtained naturally from exposure to sunlight. An interview with a registered dietitian in the Good Housekeeping Institute touting the potential benefits of vitamin D stated that “The most well-known way to get your dose of vitamin D is exposing yourself to sunlight,”
Dr. Spearman explains that the evidence for vitamin D’s role in boosting overall immunity isn’t as clear. When it comes to other respiratory infections, “Vitamin D has been evaluated to help fight other respiratory infections — unfortunately, we don’t have a clear answer here either, except that giving a single large dose isn’t helpful at all,” he explains. It has been difficult to find a definitive answer to this question through meta-analyses.
An increasing body of evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for serious disease, such as COVID-19. The benefit of increasing the immune system “it is with standard, low doses and not large doses,” Dr. Spearman clarifies.
Vitamin D supplements should be considered primarily if your doctor has detected low vitamin D levels in treatment, according to experts from across fields of study, including Spearman and Sassos. Even if you’re curious about your own vitamin D intake after reading about this study, chances are you’re already getting enough of it in your system. Only 5% of Americans have a severe vitamin D deficiency, according to the NIH, and 18% have “inadequate” levels, which may or may not cause aches, cramps, or muscle development, says Sassos.
Doctor Spearman recommends supplementation with medical supervision if someone is found to have low vitamin D levels by their doctor. Keep in mind that taking excessive amounts of vitamin D can be harmful, and that self-medication may lead to complications such as calcium buildup in the blood and kidney damage.
Overconsumption is more dangerous for fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D because they are stored in the body for longer periods of time and are more difficult to excrete through the urine.
Vitamin D supplements alone are not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and this study and other conflicting research should serve as a wake-up call to the public. Vitamin D is still being studied by scientists to see if it can help prevent serious illness or death in those who are infected. It is not yet clear whether a low-dose, continuous supplement can prevent severe COVID-19 in a healthy person,” says Dr. Spearman.
In the future, experts will likely debate the role of vitamin D supplementation in the pandemic as they conduct appropriate, randomized, and controlled studies on vitamin D supplementation. Additionally, “We hope to have a more definitive answer from these trials, which can provide a higher level of evidence,” than those thus far.
According to the consensus of the experts, vitamin D can only play a partial and preventative role in ending the pandemic, rather than an active solution after someone has become ill. UC Davis Health’s chief of infectious diseases Stuart Cohen, M.D. said in a recent communications report that “Supplementing vitamin D may play a role in treating patients, but the data is relatively weak at this time,”. “It surely is not a way to treat COVID-19 in and of itself.” says the author.
The best way to ensure that your immune system is getting the nutrients it needs is to talk to your doctor about vitamin D. There has been a lot of discussion about alternative methods of prevention, but current vaccines have proven to be effective in preventing COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths.
If you have a family history of vitamin D deficiency, it’s important to talk to your doctor about getting enough of this important nutrient. E
Dr. Spearman adds, “Taking vitamin D under medical supervision for those who have measured vitamin D deficiencies is warranted,” The evidence here is undeniable that vaccines are the best way to prevent severe COVID-19.
