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Vitamin D Level in Laboratory Confirmed COVID-19 and Disease Progression
Nasim Dana1, Maryam Nasirian2, Golnaz Vaseghi3
1Applied Physiology Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Insights
Vitamin D levels did not significantly impact coronavirus disease 2019 outcomes. However, comorbidities, particularly diabetes, along with age and gender, were found to significantly affect patient mortality and severity.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Medicine
- Nutritional Science
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- The role of vitamin D in preventing and treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unclear.
- Existing evidence is inconclusive regarding vitamin D's impact on COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between serum vitamin D levels and outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
- To analyze the effects of vitamin D on mortality, disease severity, and hospitalization duration in COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of COVID-19 patients was analyzed using data from the Isfahan coronavirus disease 2019 registry database (I-CORE).
- Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured and categorized.
- Logistic regression was employed to assess the impact of vitamin D on death, severity, and hospitalization duration.
Main Results:
- Vitamin D deficiency (severe deficiency, deficiency, insufficiency) was prevalent among patients.
- No significant association was found between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 mortality, severity, or hospitalization duration (P > .05).
- Comorbidities, especially diabetes, significantly increased the odds of death, disease severity, and length of hospital stay, independent of age and gender.
Conclusions:
- Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels do not appear to significantly affect mortality, disease severity, or hospitalization duration in COVID-19 patients.
- The interplay between vitamin D levels, comorbidities, age, and gender may influence COVID-19 patient outcomes.
Objective:
There is no conclusive evidence to suggest vitamin D level can prevent or treat infection with the new coronavirus disease 2019. This study aimed to investigate the effects of serum level of vitamin D in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 on death, severity, and hospitalization duration.
Materials And Methods:
Baseline characteristic of patients was extracted from the Isfahan coronavirus disease 2019 registry database (I-CORE). Blood samples were taken from all patients to measure the level of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) and categorized. The effect of 25(OH) D on death, severity, and hospitalization duration was analyzed by logistic regression.
Results:
Among our study patients, 5.5% had a severe deficiency of vitamin D, 23.7% deficiency, and 24.8% insufficiency. Of the 107 patients who died, 7.5% were severely deficient in vitamin D. We found that vitamin D deficiency had no significant effect on death, disease severity, and hospitalization (P > .05). However, having at least one comorbidity increased the odds of death five times after adjusting age > 60 years and gender (P < .0001). The results showed that among all comorbidities, diabetes has the greatest impact on the outcomes as it raised the odds of death, disease severity, and length of hospital stay by 2.23,1.72, and 1.48, respectively, after controlling the age > 60 and gender (P = .0002, P=.08, P=.012).
Conclusions:
The mortality, disease severity, and hospitalization of coronavirus disease 2019 patients seem to be not affected by the low levels of 25(OH)D. However, the synergy between vitamin D levels and comorbidities, age, and gender could affect the outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 patients.
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