Low vitamin D levels may make people more likely to die from corona
A preliminary study found evidence that low levels of vitamin D may make people more likely to die from infection with the Coronavirus.
The research compared average vitamin D levels in 20 European countries with COVID-19 incidence and mortality.
The results revealed a convincing relationship where countries with low vitamin D levels were also the countries with the highest mortality and injury rates with COVID-19.
The study and review have yet to be reviewed by other scientists, and it is not possible to prove that Vitamin D is the cause of this association.
However, scientists from the Trust Foundation Hospital Trust and the University of East Anglia write in their study: “ We believe we can advise vitamin D supplements to protect against SARS-CoV2 infection. ”
The study used pre-existing data on vitamin D levels, including from a comprehensive study conducted in 2019 led by Paul Lips, professor of internal medicine at the University of Freiji, Amsterdam, which collected comprehensive data on vitamin D levels of the population throughout Europe and the Middle East.
The study included the use of vitamin D measurements for thousands of individuals.
The mean vitamin D intake in the samples was (56 nmol / L), with less than 30 nmol / L considered “severe deficiency”.
The recent study took a database of vitamin D levels and found alarmingly low levels of the vitamin in the elderly, the demographic category most likely to die from infection with the Coronavirus.
Vitamin D can make its way into the human body either through certain foods, such as fish and mushrooms, or it can be produced by skin cells when exposed to sunlight.
After conducting a simple statistical analysis, called t-test, on the data to determine any relationship between mortality and vitamin D. levels, the researchers concluded in their initial report that “the most vulnerable group of COVID-19 is also the most vulnerable group in vitamin D”.
It is still not known why sun vitamins protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection and the subsequent development of COVID-19.
However, the study is supported by previous research published before the emergence of the new coronavirus, as healthy vitamin D levels have been associated with a reduced risk of other respiratory diseases, such as influenza, tuberculosis and childhood asthma.
Recently, Dr. Rachel Neale, a skin cancer researcher, said that low levels of Vitamin D can be fatal if a person is also infected with the Corona virus. This is because vitamin D appears to have important effects on the immune system.
(RT)
