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A research team led by Northwestern University (NU) in the USA. USA It found that patients with severe vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to experience serious complications, including death, according to a press release published on the UN website last Thursday.
After performing a statistical analysis of data from hospitals and clinics in China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA. The researchers discovered a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and cytokine storm, a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system, as well as a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mortality.
“The cytokine storm can seriously damage the lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death of patients,” said Ali Daneshkhah, a postdoctoral associate researcher at the NU and first author of the study. “This is what seems to kill most COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. They are the complications of the immune-driven fire.”
Vitamin D not only improves the human innate immune system, but also prevents the human immune system from becoming dangerously hyperactive. This means that having healthy vitamin D levels could protect patients against serious complications, including death, from COVID-19.
“Our analysis shows that it could be as high as halving the death rate,” said Vadim Backman of the NU, professor of biomedical engineering at the UN McCormick School of Engineering. “It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus, but it can reduce complications and prevent the death of infected people.”
Backman said this correlation could help explain the many mysteries surrounding COVID-19, such as why children are less likely to die. Children do not yet have a fully developed acquired immune system, which is the immune system’s second line of defense and is more likely to overreact.
“Children primarily depend on their innate immune system,” said Backman. “This may explain why their mortality rate is lower.”
Backman said much more research is needed to find out how vitamin D could be used more effectively to protect against COVID-19 complications.
“It is difficult to say which dose is most beneficial for COVID-19,” said Backman. “However, it is clear that vitamin D deficiency is harmful, and can be easily addressed with adequate supplementation. This could be another key to helping protect vulnerable populations, such as African American and elderly patients, who have a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. ”
The research is available on medRxiv, a prepress server for health sciences.
(Cover image via VCG)
