VITAMIN D TREATMENT IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED RISK OF MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19: A CROSS-SECTIONAL MULTI-CENTRE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
Ling Mbchb, Eleanor Broad Mbchb, Rebecca Murphy Mbchb, MD Joseph M Pappachan, Satveer Pardesi-Newton Bm, Marie-France Kong, Professor Edward B Jude
Background: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) worldwide pandemic has posed the most substantial and severe public health issue for several generations, and therapeutic options for it have not yet been optimised. Vitamin D has been proposed in the pharmacological management of Covid-19 by various sources. This study aimed to determine whether Covid-19 disease outcomes were affected by vitamin D status, and to elucidate any predictors of Covid-19 outcomes. Methods: Patients hospitalised with Covid-19 were opportunistically recruited from three different UK hospitals and their data were collected. Logistic regression was used to determine any relationships between vitamin D status and various predictors, including mortality and ventilation, and to determine any relationships between mortality, ventilation, and various predictors. Findings: Vitamin D status was not associated with any outcomes of Covid-19 investigated, following adjustment for age and sex. However, treatment with vitamin D was significantly associated with a reduced risk of death, following adjustment for age and sex (OR adj 0•48, 95% CI 0•32 -0•70, p = 1•79x10 -4 ). This relationship remained significant when also adjusted for baseline vitamin D levels (OR adj 0•47, 95% CI 0•33 -0•70, p = 1•27x10 -4 ). Interpretation: Treatment with vitamin D, regardless of baseline serum vitamin D levels, appears to be associated with a reduced risk of mortality in acute in-patients admitted with Covid-19. Further work on large population studies needs to be carried out to determine adequate serum levels of vitamin D, as well as multi-dose clinical trials of vitamin D treatment to assess maximum efficacy.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS The authors have no conflicts of interest.
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