RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new study shows that vitamin D has a protective effect against Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine in the United States analyzed blood samples from 235 patients hospitalized with Covid-19.
The study showed that patients who had at least 30 ng/mL of calcidiol (or 25-hydroxyvitamin D) significantly reduced their risk of becoming unconscious, experiencing respiratory distress or dying.
According to researchers, the patients’ blood samples also showed fewer inflammatory markers and higher levels of lymphocytes, immune system cells.
Covid-19 has affected black people more severely than white people, and new studies on vitamin D may provide the cause – as well as socioeconomic factors. People with black skin need longer exposure to sunlight for vitamin D to be produced by the human body.
The study also pointed out that patients over 40 who had enough vitamin D were 51.5 percent less likely to die from Covid-19. The study was published in the PLOS ONE scientific journal.
In addition to being found in supplements, vitamin D is also found in foods such as fish, red meat and eggs.
In another study, published in the scientific JAMA Open Network, 21.6 percent of people with vitamin D deficiency had Covid-19, while 12.2 percent of people with healthy vitamin levels were diagnosed with the disease. The data analyzed were from 489 patients and collected in 2019.
Further studies of higher scientific accuracy are still required to prove once and for all the correlation between vitamin D and Covid-19. But the data already suggest that it is indeed present.
It is worth noting that there is no evidence that above average levels have any efficacy against the novel coronavirus. Therefore, those who already have a healthy level of the vitamin do not need to take supplements to protect themselves. Blood tests requested by a doctor are still the best way to determine whether or not one has the right amount of vitamin D in the body.
Source: Exame