Paul Keller
More than 80 percent of patients with Covid-19 suffer from a vitamin D deficiency – according to a study at a Spanish hospital with Covid-19 sufferers. Risk groups in particular should therefore be examined for vitamin D deficiency.
Covid-19 patients often suffer from vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D is important for a strong immune system. Anyone who has a vitamin D deficiency, therefore, seems to be more susceptible to infections – this is also the result of a study according to which 82.2 percent of Covid 19 patients suffer from a vitamin D deficiency. In the healthy controls, only 47.2 percent had vitamin D deficiency. The study was conducted on patients at the Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla in Santander, Spain, and was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Vitamin D protects against respiratory infections and flu
Vitamin D is a hormone whose precursor is formed in the skin under the influence of solar radiation (UVB radiation). The active form of vitamin D is produced in the cells from this precursor. Vitamin D is not only important for the immune system and thus for fighting off infections, but also for calcium balance and bone health. Yes, basically it is now the case that almost no chronic disease is known in which a vitamin D deficiency is not also involved.
Studies have long been available on the protective effect of vitamin D in respiratory infections, which show that a good supply of vitamin D, e.g. For example, the risk of acute respiratory diseases is halved or that a healthy vitamin D level reduces the risk of catching and dying from the flu.
Correct vitamin D deficiency in the high-risk groups
“You could now check the vitamin D status in the high-risk group, i.e. people with previous illnesses and residents in old people’s homes, and – if there is a vitamin D deficiency – treat it,” suggests Prof. Dr. José L. Hernández, co-author of the study and researcher at the University of Cantabria in Santander. “You should also give vitamin D to those Covid-19 patients who have low vitamin D levels.”
With Covid-19: longer in the hospital with vitamin D deficiency
In the study mentioned, 216 Covid-19 patients were examined. Men had even lower vitamin D levels than women. The average vitamin D level was 13.8 ng/ml in the Covid-19 patients and 20.9 ng/ml in the healthy controls.
Also, the vitamin D-deficient candidates were more likely to have high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease — and they had to stay in the hospital longer, while those with higher vitamin D levels recovered faster. Higher levels of inflammation were also found in vitamin D deficiency patients – and inflammation, in particular, poses a great risk of severe progression in Covid-19.
Which vitamin D value is optimal?
According to official sources, vitamin D levels of 20 ng/ml and above are still considered acceptable. However, many vitamin D experts state a value of 30 ng/ml as the minimum value for a healthy vitamin D level, since e.g. B. the absorption of calcium from the intestine drops sharply below 30 ng/ml. Values of 40 to 50 ng/ml vitamin D3 (25OH vitamin D3) are therefore optimal.
How fact checkers & co keep people from vitamin D
It would therefore certainly be a good idea if the vitamin D level in deficient patients were not only adjusted to 20 ng/ml but to at least 30 ng/ml. Perhaps this simple measure would make a very clear contribution to the long-awaited relief of the health systems.
But although corresponding studies have been available since the beginning of the pandemic (e.g. April 2020), people prefer to warn about vitamin D (consumer advocates, fact-checkers, etc.). You can read more about this in the update of our article on the opinion of the German Society for Nutrition on vitamin D in the pandemic and also in our article on the warning from Stiftung Warentest about vitamin D.
