Background

Vitamin D plays an important role in the immune system, partly by promoting or suppressing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Vitamin D notably downregulates IL-6 and TNF-α, two proinflammatory cytokines involved in the development of the cytokine storm that precedes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Because low vitamin D levels have been implicated as a contributing factor to severe COVID-19 cases, the present review examined data across several studies to determine if low vitamin D levels can predict a poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients.

The study

This systematic review examined whether blood levels of vitamin D can predict adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Data from 1,368 patients across 7 studies were analyzed.

The results

Patients with a poor prognosis (n=634) had significantly lower vitamin D levels than did patients with a good prognosis (n=669). There was an even greater difference in vitamin D levels between patients who survived the disease and patients who didn’t.

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This Study Summary was published on September 4, 2020.