In a new study, researchers found that over 80% of 200 COVID-19 patients in a hospital in Spain have vitamin D deficiency.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Cantabria in Santander, Spain.
Vitamin D is a hormone the kidneys produce that controls blood calcium concentration and impacts the immune system.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a variety of health concerns, although research is still underway into why the hormone impacts other systems of the body.
Many studies point to the beneficial effect of vitamin D on the immune system, especially regarding protection against infections.
One approach is to identify and treat vitamin D deficiency, especially in high-risk individuals such as the elderly, patients with comorbidities, and nursing home residents, who are the main target population for the COVID-19.
Vitamin D treatment should be recommended in COVID-19 patients with low levels of vitamin D circulating in the blood since this approach might have beneficial effects in both the musculoskeletal and the immune system.
In the study, the researchers found 80% of 216 COVID-19 patients at the Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla had vitamin D deficiency, and men had lower vitamin D levels than women.
COVID-19 patients with lower vitamin D levels also had raised serum levels of inflammatory markers such as ferritin and D-dimer.
One author of the study is José L. Hernández, Ph.D.
The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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