Vitamin D in Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19: Current Perspective and Future Prospects
J Am Coll Nutr. 2020 Sep 1;1-14. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2020.1806758
Navya Vyas 1 2, Shilia Jacob Kurian 2 3, Debasis Bagchi 4, Mohan K Manu 2 5, Kavitha Saravu 2 6, Mazhuvancherry Kesavan Unnikrishnan 7, Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay 8, Mahadev Rao 3, Sonal Sekhar Miraj 2 3
COVID-19 treated by Vitamin D - studies, reports, videos as of July 29 includes
- 21 trials (generally treatment, not prevention), +10 observational studies,
- +7 recommendations, +34 associations, +58 speculations, +20 videos,
and has the following recent updates
Top Vitamin D and COVID-19 recent updates
- Vitamin D, Zinc, etc. look promising for COVID-19 (Holick) – Jan 25, 2021
- Vitamin D plus Inositol might help pregnancies during COVID-19 – April 2021
- MATH plus protocol for COVID-19 includes Calcifediol or Vitamin D - Jan 2021
- Vitamin D supplementation fights COVID-19 – 11th meta-analysis Jan 24, 2021
- Vitamin D helps the immune system fight COVID-19 – video Jan 21, 2021
- COVID-19 2.7 X more likely to be severe if less than 30 ng of vitamin D (China) – Jan 2021
- 2.7 fewer COVID-19 hospital deaths in those having more than 30 ng of vitamin D – Mayo Jan 9, 2021
- Vitamin D Help Us Fight Infections - interview of Dr. Thakkar (transcript) Jan 20, 2021
- COVID-19 onset strongly associated with latitude in Europe (Vitamin D)– Jan 21, 2021
- France: 73 experts and 6 academies recommend vitamin D to prevent COVID-19 Jan 19, 2021
- Elderly COVID-19 patients getting 400,000 IU of vitamin D had better survival (Italy, April)– Jan 14, 2021
- Vitamin D-COVID interview by Dr. Campbell of Davies (member of UK Parliament) - Jan 17, 2021
- Iranians with COVID-19 were 2.3 X more likely to die if low vitamin D – Jan 2021
- Many COVID-19 risks are associated with low vitamin D (7 studies) – Systematic Review Jan 2021
- 40 ng of Vitamin D to fight COVID 15K to 50K weekly or 100K monthly - Spanish Jan 2021
- Poor COVID-19 prognosis was 6 X more likely if low vitamin D – Jan 21, 2021
- Unraveling the roles of vitamin D status and melanin during COVID-19 (Review) Jan 11
- 30 x fewer COVID-19 deaths in those getting 400,000 IU of Vitamin D - Jan 2021
- 2.8 X fewer COVID-19 nursing home deaths if add 10,000 IU Vitamin D daily for a week (small observation)- Jan 2021
- 3.7 X less likely to die of COVID-19 if supplemented with Vitamin D - meta-analysis Jan 5, 2021
- COVID-19 test positive 4.5 X more likely if had low vitamin D test within 4 years – Jan 6, 2021
- Don’t Let COVID-19 Patients Die With Vitamin D Deficiency - Jan 5, 2021
- Less likely to test positive for COVID-19 if higher Vitamin D – meta-analysis Jan 6, 2021
- Vitamin D reduces COVID-19 by 80 percent - anonymous meta-analysis - Jan 5, 2021
- COVID 19 Video - Drs. Seheult and Campbell : Lessons Learned and a Look Ahead - Jan 4
- Many drugs increase ACE2 and COVID-19 (176 page review) - Dec 2020
- Italian nursing home COVID-19 – 4X less likely to die if taking Vitamin D– Dec 22, 2020
- Take 50,000 IU of Vitamin D weekly before and after COVID-19 vaccination by VItaminDWiki
- COVID-19 lung infection upsets Vitamin D genes (so more or different form of Vit D is required) - Dec 22, 2020
- COVID-19 Disease and Vitamin D: A Mini-Review – Dec 15, 2020
- French Consensus – 200,000 IU of Vitamin D if get COVID-19 – Dec 22, 2020
- Rational approach to COVID-19: 50k-100k of Vitamin D weekly – Dec 2020
- Shift workers 2X more likely to get COVID-19 (low Vitamin D) - Dec 2020
- COVID-19 plus pneumonia in ICU with low vitamin D equaled Death - Dec 2020
- Excellent on-going analysis of Vitamin D and COVID-19 publications
- 7X less likely to die of COVID-19 if taking Vitamin D loading dose – Dec 11, 2020
- COVID-19 patients with low vitamin D had far fewer natural killer cells – Dec 2020
- COVID-19 Vitamin D: Overview of Evidence by Dr. Seheult (Video and transcript) - Dec 10, 2020
- 75 articles indicate that Vitamin D should fight COVID-19 – Evidence Review Dec 10, 2020
- COVID-19 Vitamin D: Overview by Dr. in Sri Lanka (Video and transcript) - Dec 8, 2020
- Vitamin D recommended to fight COVID-19 by 2 groups – Dec 7, 2020
- Vitamin D helps athletes while reducing their COVID-19 risk - Dec 4, 2020
- 5X more likely to test positive for COVID-19 if low vitamin D in previous 5 years (900,000 people) - Dec 4, 2020
- 5.8 X more likely to die of COVID-19 if low vitamin D - Systematic Review Dec 3, 2020
- Evidence of Vitamin D fighting COVID-19 etc. - take 4,000 IU if less than 20 ng (UK) – Dec 1, 2020
- 3.8 X higher risk of COVID-19 death if low vitamin D – Belgium Nov 25, 2020
- Hyperglycemic 2X more likely to have severe COVID-19 - Nov 2020 Diabetes
- COVID-19 protocol proposed in India includes Vitamin D - Nov 12, 2020
- A Medical School COVID-19 protocol includes Vitamin D for all phases – Marik Nov 2020
- Vitamin D has eliminated ICU COVID-19 in hospital in Dubai since June - Sept 26, 2020
- COVID-19 and Vitamin D: Health Authorities do not understand risk-reward – Nov 2020
- c19study.com/d has excellent synopsis of Vitamin D and COVID studies
-
click to see 3 weeks in Nov 2020
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- COVID-19 – Putative Roles of Vitamin D – Nov 2020
- Fight COVID-19 without drugs or vaccines, Vitamin D is the single most-studied way – Nov 2020
- Hospital COVID-19 observation: 7X more likely to live if more than 20 ng of vitamin D– Nov 19, 2020
- Higher vitamin D associated with fewer cases and deaths in India Nov 2020
- COVID-19 defeated 3x faster by 420,000 IU Vitamin D nanoemulsion – RCT Nov 12, 2020
- 2X fewer COVID-19 deaths observed if infrequent vitamin D (2X more deaths if daily dose) – ClinicalTrial Oct 20, 2020
- Vitamin D and COVID-19 - observational studies found it helps, never hurts - Campbell Oct 31, 2020
- COVID-19 patients who happened to be taking Vitamin D did much better – Oct 27,2020
- 9X COVID-19 survival in nursing home if had 80,000 IU dose of vitamin D in previous month – Oct 2020
- Virtually no COVID-19 cases in countries having more than 30 ng of Vitamin D - Sept 17, 2020
- Rate of COVID-19 test positive is 40 pcnt lower if high vitamin D (192,000 people) - Holick Sept 2020
Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) partly explains geographical differences in COVID-19 susceptibility, severity, and mortality. VDD among African-Americans, diabetics, hypertensive, and aged populations possibly explain the higher death rate, aggravated by cocooning. Vitamin D is pleiotropic, mediating bone metabolism, calcium homeostasis, and immune functions, whereas VDD is associated with inflammatory reactions and immune dysfunction, predisposing individuals to severe infections.
Vitamin D modulates innate and adaptive immunity via the expression of genes that code antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). And the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD)14, the co-receptor for epidermal toll-like receptor (TLR)4. AMPs stimulate TLR2 in macrophages, increasing the conversion of vitamin D into its active form by cytochrome P450 27B1. Antiviral properties of vitamin D-induced AMPs can shift the polarization of the adaptive immune response from helper T cells (Th)1 to the more regulatory Th2 responses that suppress immune over-reactivity by preventing cytokine storm, which is already demonstrated during the Spanish flu episode.
Vitamin D induces antiviral effects by both direct and indirect mechanisms via
- AMPs,
- immunomodulation,
- the interplay between major cellular and viral elements,
- induction of autophagy and apoptosis,
- variation of genetic and epigenetic factors.
The crosstalk between vitamin D and intracellular signaling pathways may operate as a primary regulatory action on viral gene transcription.
VDD may increase the likelihood of infection with enveloped viruses, including
- retrovirus,
- hepatitis, and
- dengue.
Key teaching points
Vitamin D induces antiviral effects by direct and indirect mechanisms via
- AMPs,
- immunomodulation,
- induction of autophagy, etc.
Epidemiology of VDD partly explains geographical differences in COVID-19
- susceptibility,
- severity, and
- mortality.
Global data correlates severe VDD with COVID-19 associated
- coagulopathy,
- disrupted immune response and
- mortality,
- reduced platelet count, and
- prolonged prothrombin time,
together suggesting benefits from supplementation. Many clinical trials are underway globally to delineate the role of vitamin D in both prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
RCT Summary at VitaminDWiki - constantly updated