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After studying global data from the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the researchers discovered a strong correlation between severe vitamin D deficiency and death rates.
Led by Northwestern University, the research team conducted statistical analysis of data from hospitals and clinics in China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (United Kingdom), and the United States. United.
The researchers noted that patients in countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates, such as Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, had lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients in countries that were not as severely affected.
The researchers caution that this does not mean that everyone, especially those without a known deficiency, needs to start accumulating supplements.
“While I think it’s important for people to know that vitamin D deficiency could play a role in mortality, we don’t need to push vitamin D at all,” said Vadim Backman of Northwestern, who led the research. “This needs more study, and I hope that our work will stimulate interest in this area. The data may also shed light on the mortality mechanism, which, if tested, could lead to new therapeutic targets. “
The research is available on medRxiv, a prepress server for health sciences.
Backman is the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern McCormick School of Engineering. Ali Daneshkhah, an associate postdoctoral researcher at Backman’s laboratory, is the first author of the article.
Backman and his team were inspired to examine vitamin D levels after noticing unexplained differences in COVID-19 death rates from one country to another. Some people hypothesized that differences in the quality of medical care, age distributions in the population, test rates, or different strains of the coronavirus could be responsible. But Backman was skeptical.
“Neither of these factors seems to play a role,” Backman said. “The healthcare system in northern Italy is one of the best in the world. There are differences in mortality even if one looks through the same age group. And while testing restrictions vary, disparities in mortality still exist even when we look at the countries or populations to which similar test rates apply.
“Instead, we saw a significant correlation with vitamin D deficiency,” he said.
Analyzing publicly available patient data from around the world, Backman and his team uncovered 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 deficiency. of vitamin D and mortality.
“The cytokine storm can seriously damage the lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death of patients,” said Daneshkhah. “This is what appears to kill most COVID-19 patients, not destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. They are the complications of misdirected fire of the immune system. “
This is exactly where Backman believes that vitamin D plays an important role. Vitamin D not only improves our innate immune system, but also prevents our immune system from becoming extremely 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 cutting the death rate in half,” Backman said. “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 is careful to point out that people should not take excessive doses of vitamin D, which could have negative side effects. He said the subject needs much more research to know 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 detrimental, 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. “
Reference:
Ali Daneshkhah et al. The possible role of vitamin D in suppressing cytokine storm and associated mortality in patients with COVID-19, MEDRXIV (2020). DOI: 10.1101 / 2020.04.08.20058578
This article has been reissued from the following materials. Note: the material may have been edited for length and content. For more information, contact the source cited.
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