Association of Vitamin D Deficiency with COVID-19 Infection Severity: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Link to article at PubMed

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2021 Jun 23. doi: 10.1111/cen.14540. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We sought to evaluate the association between vitamin D deficiency and severity of COVID-19 infection.

METHODS: Multiple databases from January 1st, 2019 to December 3rd , 2020 were searched for observational studies evaluating the association between vitamin D deficiency and severity of COVID-19 infection. Independent reviewers selected studies and extracted data for the review. The main outcomes of interest were mortality, hospital admission, length of hospital stay and intensive care unit admission.

RESULTS: 17 observational studies with 2,756 patients were included in the analyses. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with significantly higher mortality (OR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.50 to 4.05; 12 studies; HR: 4.11, 95% CI: 2.40 to 7.04; 3 studies), higher rates of hospital admissions (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.48 to 3.21; 3 studies); and longer hospital stays (0.52 days; 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.80; 2 studies) as compared to non-vitamin D deficient status. Subgroup analyses based on different cut offs for defining vitamin D deficiency, study geographic locations and latitude also showed similar trends.

CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with greater severity of COVID-19 infection. Further studies are warranted to determine if vitamin D supplementation can decrease severity of COVID-19. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:34160843 | DOI:10.1111/cen.14540

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