Association of vitamin D deficiency with COVID-19 infection severity: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

We sought to evaluate the association between vitamin D deficiency and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

METHODS:

Multiple databases from 1 January 2019 to 3 December 2020 were searched for observational studies evaluating the association between vitamin D deficiency and severity of COVID-19 infection. Independent reviewers selected studies and extracted data for the review. The main outcomes of interest were mortality, hospital admission, length of hospital stay and intensive care unit admission.

RESULTS:

Seventeen observational studies with 2756 patients were included in the analyses. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with significantly higher mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 2.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50-4.05; 12 studies; hazard ratio [HR]: 4.11, 95% CI: 2.40-7.04; 3 studies), higher rates of hospital admissions (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.48-3.21; 3 studies) and longer hospital stays (0.52 days; 95% CI: 0.25-0.80; 2 studies) as compared to nonvitamin D deficient status. Subgroup analyses based on different cut-offs for defining vitamin D deficiency, study geographic locations and latitude also showed similar trends.

CONCLUSIONS:

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with greater severity of COVID-19 infection. Further studies are warranted to determine if vitamin D supplementation can decrease the severity of COVID-19.

• Authors: Zhen Wang, Avni Joshi, Kaitlin Leopold, Sarah Jackson, Stephanie Christensen, Tarek Nayfeh, Khaled Mohammed, Ana Creo, Peter Tebben, Seema Kumar
• Journal: Clinical endocrinology (Clin Endocrinol (Oxf)) Vol. 96 Issue 3 Pg. 281-287 (03 2022) ISSN: 1365-2265 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 34160843 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review)
• Copyright: © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Chemical References

• Vitamin D

Topics

• COVID-19
• Humans
• Intensive Care Units
• SARS-CoV-2
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin D Deficiency (complications)