Effect of micronutrient supplements on influenza and other respiratory tract infections among adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BMJ Glob Health . 2021 Jan;6(1):e003176. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003176.
Ajibola Ibraheem Abioye 1, Sabri Bromage 2, Wafaie Fawzi 3
Subset of table
- Overview Colds and flu and Vitamin D
- Respiratory infections reduced by 63 percent with 4000 IU vitamin D daily - RCT Dec 2012
- Respiratory deaths in seniors – 40 percent are attributable to low vitamin D – Aug 2020
- Respiratory infections (RTI) cut in half by 20,000 IU weekly vitamin D if initially deficient – RCT March 2015
- Acute viral respiratory infections (RTI) reduced by Vitamin D - 20 reviews - Aug 2020
VitaminDWiki RTI studies 26 as of Sept 2021
Items in both categories Breathing and Loading Dose are listed here:
- 40 cents of Vitamin D given once during pregnancy reduced respiratory problems by 3% – May 2023
- Childhood asthma problems eliminated for months by 600,000 IU of Vitamin D injection – June 2017
- Pneumonia in children not stopped for 6 months by single dose of vitamin D (3 months max) – RCT Nov 2016
- 500,000 IU of vitamin D cut in half the hospital days following a lung failure – RCT 2015
- 5 days of 100,000 IU of Vitamin D increased hemoglobin in critical illness – RCT April 2015
- Recurrence of child pneumonia delayed by 100000 IU of vitamin D – RCT Oct 2010
Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
Acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) are a leading cause of ill-health and death globally. Individual or multiple micronutrients have been shown to modulate immune function and affect the risk and severity of a number of infectious diseases. We systematically reviewed the evidence on the impact of micronutrient supplements to reduce the occurrence of ARIs and shorten the duration of ARI symptoms among adults. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate the pooled effects of vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc and multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) on the occurrence of ARIs and the duration of ARI symptoms. Vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of ARI (risk ratio (RR)=0.97; 95% CI 0.94 to 1.00; p=0.028) and shortened the duration of symptoms (per cent difference: -6% (95% CI -9% to -2%; p=0.003)).
The RR of vitamin D to prevent ARI was farther from the null when diagnosis was based on clinical diagnosis or laboratory testing, compared with self-report and when the loading dose was <60 000 IU.
Vitamin C supplementation reduced the risk of ARIs (RR=0.96; 95% CI 0.93 to 0.99; p=0.01) and shortened the duration of symptoms (per cent difference: -9% (95% CI -16% to -2%; p=0.014)). The effect of vitamin C on preventing ARI was stronger among men and in middle-income countries, compared with women and high-income countries, respectively.
Zinc supplementation did not reduce the risk of ARIs but shortened the duration of symptoms substantially (per cent difference: -47% (95% CI -73% to -21%; p=0.0004)).
Our synthesis of global evidence from randomised controlled trials indicates that micronutrient supplements including zinc, vitamins C and D, and multiple micronutrient supplements may be modestly effective in preventing ARIs and improving their clinical course. Further research is warranted to better understand the effectiveness that individual or multiple micronutrients have on SARS-CoV-2 infection and treatment outcomes.