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Vitamin D and COVID-19 infection and mortality in UK Biobank

Claire E Hastie1, Jill P Pell2, Naveed Sattar3

  • 1Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK. claire.hastie@glasgow.ac.uk.

European Journal of Nutrition
|August 28, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Low vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D) were not linked to severe COVID-19 outcomes or mortality in a large UK study. Further research is needed to confirm vitamin D

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Nutritional Science
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration has been investigated as a potential risk factor for COVID-19.
  • Understanding the association between vitamin D status and COVID-19 severity is crucial for public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between baseline serum 25(OH)D concentration and COVID-19 mortality.
  • To examine the relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and inpatient-confirmed COVID-19 infection.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized UK Biobank data from 502,624 participants (aged 37-73 years) with baseline serum 25(OH)D measurements.
  • Employed univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression for mortality and Poisson regression for severe infection.
  • Linked baseline exposure data to COVID-19 mortality and inpatient infection records.

Main Results:

  • Analysis included 341,484 participants with complete data; 656 had inpatient COVID-19 and 203 died from it.
  • Univariable analysis showed an association between 25(OH)D and COVID-19 mortality (HR 0.92 per 10 nmol/L), but this disappeared after adjusting for confounders (HR 0.98).
  • Vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency was not independently associated with COVID-19 infection or mortality.

Conclusions:

  • The study findings do not support a link between 25(OH)D concentrations and the risk of severe COVID-19 or related mortality.
  • Further randomized controlled trials are necessary to determine any potential beneficial role of vitamin D in preventing severe COVID-19.
Abstract

Keywords:
COVID-19MortalityVitamin D

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